A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
Tune into Visit Bentonville’s podcast series for a weekly update on all things Bentonville, Arkansas. You’ll hear captivating stories and updates from our city—connecting you with the locals that make this town worth visiting.
Episodes
248 episodes
Passing the Baton: Introducing the New Host, Graham Cobb
Beth Bobbitt records her final conversation as host and hands The New American Town to Graham Cobb, a strategist who’s worn plenty of Bentonville hats and still talks about the city with fresh-eyed wonder. Graham shares the story of his first r...
Visitor’s Guide to Crystal Bridges Campus
A 134-acre campus where you can wander from museum galleries to forest trails, step into Heartland Whole Health Institute, and end up on a rooftop garden at a medical school sounds in Bentonville, Arkansas. We sit down with Jennifer Dunham, Sen...
Team USA Paracyclist Trains for Nationals in Bentonville
We sit down with paracyclist Jason Macomb as he readies himself for the 2026 USA Paracycling Road National Championships in Bentonville, where the time trial and road race decide who gets to wear the stars and stripes all year, including on the...
Accessible Travel: Good for Humans and Local Economies
Join us with John Sage founder and CEO of Sage Traveling and Accessible Travel Solutions to explore how inclusive design, empathetic training, and honest information transform guest experience and the bottom line. We dig into the three pillars ...
Club America Comes to Arkansas for the Golden Clash ⚽
We sit down with Claudia Carrión Rojos from Club America Femenil to trace her path from playing as a kid to helping build one of the most ambitious women’s football (soccer) projects in Mexico. We preview the Golden Clash in Northwest Ar...
Gnargo Bikes: A Love Story
What happens when two artists fall in love over bikes, move to a trail town, and decide to build a better way to move families and elders? We sit down with Elysia Springer of Bentonville-based Gnargo Bike Co to share the story of a pandemic gar...
MONAH: Museum that Tells 24,000 Years Across the Americas
We sit down with MONAH Executive Director Jazlyn Sanderson to explore how a museum in Bentonville threads 24,000 years of Indigenous history into the present through art, archaeology, and living partnerships that honor descendant communities. T...
The Rule Of Three: Blending Gravel & Grit
We sit down with Rule of Three co-founders Andy Chasteen and Lauren Pickman to unpack how a simple Bentonville idea became a sold-out fixture blending gravel, pavement, and singletrack into a single unforgettable ride. From the early spark to t...
How Bentonville Turned Unreasonable Hospitality Into A Sports Advantage
Join our conversation with Amy Springer, sports sales manager at Visit Bentonville, to explore how a hometown kid helped shape a destination that wins over event owners and fans alike. From elite turf complexes and ESPN-ready gyms to walkable h...
From Trailhead To Shopfront with Scott Adventure Lab
Craig Zedeker with Scott Adventure Lab joins us to chart how a college curiosity became a career shaping how riders buy, build, and belong. We talk about the scrappy early days of Competitive Cyclist, from eBay listings and Rubbermaid parts tub...
Inside 21C Bentonville: Art, Hospitality, Penguins, & More
This conversation with 21C Bentonville reveals how access to contemporary art can redefine everyday life. We welcome General Manager Claire Thompson and Marketing Manager Micheala Boyd to share how a Louisville-born vision took root in Northwes...
How A Small City Earned Global Headlines
We sit down with Alison Nation, CMO of Visit Bentonville, to trace how a small city stitched together art, trails, wellness, and hospitality into a destination that keeps turning editors’ heads from New York to London.Crystal Bridges fu...
Bentonville Moves Coalition’s Push for Safe, Connected Streets
We sit down with Jessica Pearson of the Bentonville Moves Coalition to map out how a bold goal—30 miles of safe, connected routes in three years—turned biking and walking into everyday options for getting to school, work, and everywhere in betw...
Kalene Griffith Talks Reinvesting in Bentonville
We sit with Visit Bentonville CEO Kalene Griffith to trace how a destination management approach turns visitor spending into daily life upgrades: better parks, a busier library, a thriving community center, and a steady calendar of film, cyclin...
The Amazeum: Celebrating 10 Years of Curiosity
Ten years of play can change a city. We sit down with Sam Dean, CEO of the Scott Family Amazeum, to unpack how a dinner table dream grew into a 50,000-square-foot engine for curiosity. We trace the museum’s origins, the kid‑invented name that f...
Sweetgreen Brings Food, Local Sourcing, and Friendly Service to Bentonville & Fayetteville
We sit down with Sweetgreen’s Amy Dominguez to explore why Bentonville is the perfect homes for a new restaurant built on real ingredients, thoughtful sourcing, and warm hospitality. Amy shares how a farmer’s market origin turned into a nationa...
Progressive Trail Design goes from Bentonville to the LA Olympics
We sit down with Nathan "Woody" Woodruff, the founder of Progressive Trail Design (PTD), to unpack how a Fayetteville landscape hustle evolved into Bentonville's Slaughter Pen trail network and set the course for designing LA28’s Olympic mounta...
Meeting Planners Fall In Love With Bentonville's Unconventional Conventions
Tired of conferences that keep everyone indoors and restless? We sat down with Wes Oliver, director of sales at Visit Bentonville, to unpack a NEW WAY: The Unconventional Convention concept is a walkable, multi-venue model that trades hal...
You Belong Here at the Momentary for Music, Art, and Food
You Belong Here—as the artwork over the Momentary Green says, to hear Jill Wagar unpack how a former cheese plant evolved into a living room where music, contemporary art, and food collide. Jill shares the backstory of the Momentary’s rise alon...
Bonus Episode: Off Season Christopher Blevins
We celebrate Christopher Blevins’ historic World Cup season and explore how he resets with mindfulness, play, and creative work. From Cal Poly roots to Stilspoke, he shares why slowing down builds a stronger racer and a fuller person.
Road Trip to Bentonville with Wonderland on Points
A teen concert turned into a full-on adventure when Jo Brown, co-host of Wonderland on Points, who used her points-and-miles playbook to design a Bentonville escape. Jo walks through the meals that set a new bar—Table on Sixth’s craveable BLT, ...
Blevins’ Big Year
We sit down with Christopher Blevins in Bentonville to unpack The 2025 racing season, which finished with Christopher at the top of the sport claiming both overall titles (XCC & XCO) in the World Cup MTB. If you’re curious about sustainable...
Bentonville's Guide to Inclusive Dining
We sat down with local food writer and curator Katie Robertson to chart Bentonville's rise as a destination for inclusive dining—with celiac-safe kitchens, vegan menus, and allergy-aware staff. Katie takes us behind the scenes of a movement pow...
Creating The Compton Food Culture with Chef Corrin
A Katrina-era detour turned a pre-med student into a chef, and her path led her to The Compton. We sit down with Chef Corrin Ellis, the executive chef behind The Compton’s food and beverage program, to unpack how design, community, and local fa...
Townie Burgers, Bevvies, & Bentonville Roots
We sit down with Luke Wetzel and Mollie Mullis to share how bonding over pizza led to the newest Bentonville hotspot, Townie Burgers & Bevvies. Hear about their roots and Luke's training under Alice Waters; and the influence on local, farm-...