{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Ask A Kansan","title":"Discover the Flint Hills with Stephen Bridenstine","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3131,"description":"What do fire, bison, and star bonds have in common? They're all part of this week's conversation about the Flint Hills — and honestly, it's one of those episodes that makes you want to book a trip to Manhattan, Kansas immediately. We sat down with Stephen Bridenstine, Director of the Flint Hills Discovery Center, to talk about what it really takes to understand one of the most unique — and misunderstood — landscapes in America. Stephen came to Kansas by choice (his words), and 12 years later, he's still here and still learning. HighlightsA young sports broadcaster from Quinter, Kansas is going viral for taking audience-submitted phrases and slipping them seamlessly into live play-by-play — and it is absolutely worth your timeStephen Bridenstine moved to Manhattan, Kansas sight unseen, driving a moving van down Highway 177 with everything he owned — and the first thing he saw was the Flint Hills Discovery CenterThe Flint Hills Discovery Center isn't just a history museum or a nature center — it intentionally tells an interconnected story spanning 13,500 years of human and natural historyRanching in the Flint Hills actually mimics what bison did for thousands of years — and it's essential to the health of the tallgrass prairie ecosystemFire isn't a threat to the Flint Hills. It's a tool. Stephen once had to explain this live on the Weather Channel.The Discovery Center's star bond project was so successful, the bonds were paid off years ahead of schedule — which funded a second museum right across the streetThe Flint Hills Festival draws over 9,000 attendees and is the one day per year the Discovery Center is free to the publicThe Flint Hills covers 4 million acres — roughly the size of New Jersey — stretching from the Nebraska border to OklahomaSydney went to boarding school in Missouri, where a third of her class was international students. Gus's claim to fame was \"most likely to do something sciencey.\"Chapters0:00 – Hilarious Sports Broadcaster from Quinter2:42 –...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/31uDhQmE-73zaqpWjXtwnyYffNMsUnDPiL6GtjTddEQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mNzBm/YzFkNDBkODVjNGM2/MzMwMGViYjhmZTY4/Nzc0Mi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}