In a swipe-right world, what does it mean to cheat?

"It's never been easier to cheat — and it's never been more difficult to keep a secret," says couples therapist Esther Perel. "The majority of affairs would normally have died a natural death. Today they are discovered primarily through the phone or through social media or though the computer."

Kevin Winter/Getty Images In a year music wrestled with its demons, one album stood out While some clear themes have emerged — including female artists’ confrontations and condemnations of abusive men — there isn’t a lot of consensus to be found in music critics’ lists of the best of 2017. The one place that wasn’t true was at the top of the mountain, where Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. spent the year, provoking and demanding deep thought. NPR’s Rodney Carmichael says the prolific rapper presents himself as both raging prophet and unworthy penitent. See Also: Best Albums Of 2017 | Best Songs Of 2017 In a quest to raise an incorruptible daughter, he put her through hell. Now she's told her story Maude Julien's father made her cling to an electric fence, kept her from the outside world, had her serve him, denied her any comforts, all in a sadistic attempt to make her strong — superhuman, even. "From the age of 6 I had to spend one night a month in the basement, meditating on death," she says, forbidden from moving. "I sat on a stool, alone, in the dark, surrounded by rats." She made it out, and became a leading psychotherapist — but his tactics stayed in her nightmares for decades. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images Trump promised to make whole those hurting and punish the companies that hurt them. That’s nowhere in the tax bill Republicans in Congress released the final version of their tax plan Friday (see how it would effect you) with a steep corporate tax cut and nearly every income level. An expanded child tax credit was included, but will expire. It’s more tilted toward the wealthy than Reagan’s or Bush’s cuts — and “it's not what Trump's voters thought they were getting.” Stuart Kinlough/Getty Images/Ikon Images With more complex relationship expectations and easier temptation, a couples therapist says infidelity is mutating The definition of cheating is far more individual and nebulous than it once was, says Esther Perel: "Is it a love affair? Is [it] a tryst? Is it watching porn? ... Staying secretly active on your dating apps?” But crossing that line of transgression doesn’t have to signal the end of a relationship, she says. "Many affairs will remake a relationship. You can renegotiate the entire thing.” Streeter Lecka/Getty Images That garbage patch in the Pacific doesn't look so bad: Human feet keep washing up on Pacific Northwest beaches About once a year for the past decade, a severed foot — still clad in a shoe — washes ashore in British Columbia. "At the beginning, it seemed more strange, but now it happens so many times," one local said after the latest incident. Maybe the weirdest part? Authorities aren't all that concerned.. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002