Sep 5, 2016 7:00 AM

The Girl Who Didn’t Exist and 4 Other Must-Listen Podcasts

This week, listen to a meat-related conspiracy theory, female protagonists in telenovelas, and whether you should bother to buy organic.

Happy long weekend! A return to the daily commute may not promise a good time—but these podcasts do. Tune in for the unlikely rise of the telenovela female antihero, a woman born and raised in Texas who doesn't exist according to the US government, and a man who walked through Central and South America with his donkey. Plus, we've got snacks (or at least podcasts about them), from organic produce to Nutella to a mysterious conspiracy about the fifth meat. We'll leave you to figure out the original four while you peruse the choices.

Radiolab
Radiolab, “The Girl Who Doesn’t Exist”
Faith Pennington exists, but she can’t prove it to the U.S. government. Pennington grew up in rural Texas, where her parents shielded her and her eight siblings from the dangers of the world. Without a birth certificate or a social security number, though, she can’t fully enter that world--which some sovereignty advocates see as the greatest gift parents could give. (Especially worth a listen for fans of *The Wolfpack* documentary.) [Listen here](http://www.radiolab.org/story/invisible-girl/).
HumaNature
HumaNature, “Hoofprints on the Heart”
One day, Jon Dunham left his home in Oregon and started to walk. When he got to the border with Mexico, he kept walking, without knowing any Spanish. Along with his donkey, Judas, he walked through Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Brazil--all the way to the southern tip of South America. Listen to some of the stories of who he met along the way. [Listen here.](http://humanaturepodcast.org/podcast/episode-11-hoofprints-on-the-heart/)

Gimlet Media
Science Vs, “Organic Food”
Should you bother to buy organic produce? What does "organic" really mean? To find out, Wendy Zukerman turns her infectious enthusiasm and curiosity to a skeptical farmer, academics, and consumers. Also featuring “Milkshake” by Kelis, Nutella, and some good bathroom euphemisms.
Beef and Dairl Network
Beef and Dairy Network, “A Matter of Life and Death”
Speaking of farms, take a listen to *Beef and Dairy Network*, purportedly the number one podcast for those interested in the production of beef animals and dairy herds—but actually is an absurd comedy podcast, exhaustively exploring bovine humor and always searching for the world’s fifth meat. It’s dry and straight-faced and you may find yourself explaining to your fellow commuters just why a gravy binge is so funny. Listen to the latest dispatch [here,](http://www.beefanddairynetwork.com/) or start from the beginning [here](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/beef-and-dairy-network/id1022024768).

JC Olivera/Getty Images
Planet Money, “The New Telenovela”
You probably read about Kate del Castillo when the Mexican actress, alongside Sean Penn, led the government to drug lord El Chapo. ([Remember the texts?](http://www.wired.com/2016/01/we-found-even-more-of-el-chapos-texts-about-sean-penn/)) But the kingpin that Castillo plays on *Queen of the South*, a show that bested *all* networks when it premiered in 2011, also demonstrated a new possibility for Spanish-language TV: the female antihero. *Planet Money* talks to Perla Farías, the Telemundo executive who poked fun at the classic telenovela and reimagined what the form could be. [Listen here.](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/08/31/492123182/episode-722-the-new-telenovela)