In this episode of "Rambling Through the Brambles," Clark Taylor and Hobart Taylor delve into Donald Trump's contentious appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists. They discuss Trump's combative stance, his inability to appeal beyond his base, and the racial dynamics at play during the event.

Clark and Hobart analyze Trump's thin-skinned responses, the implications of his VP pick, and his overall strategy of playing to his core supporters. They also touch on Rachel Scott's direct confrontation with Trump and his defensive reactions. The conversation explores the authentic versus the performative aspects of Trump's persona and how his supporters perceive him.

The episode further examines Trump's transactional view of relationships and his outdated, categorical thinking. Clark and Hobart express their disappointment in Trump's continued dehumanization of individuals by reducing them to stereotypes. They also critique the panel setup and the roles of journalists like Harris Faulkner in the discussion.

Finally, the conversation shifts to the broader implications of Trump's rhetoric on American politics and journalism. Clark and Hobart reflect on the challenges of addressing Trump's evasive tactics and the potential impact on undecided voters. They conclude with thoughts on the future of American leadership and the importance of humility and genuine engagement in political discourse.

Where we find our way through the new candidate for President's campaign, image, likeability and chances in our weird-making electoral system.

Hobart wants to know what Clark thinks about this whole Kamala Harris Joe Biden thing.  Clark has some opinions.

Still more to say about the case and the context and what it all means.  

We do our typically searching analysis of what OJ means in the current moment.

We are getting into the personal as we continue to explore.   Today Hobart asked about subtle or hidden prejudices we may each hold about the other's race.  

Hobart and Clark continue to wander the thickets of the Black experience with Country Music and maintain the effort to dig into the personal as well as the broadly cultural.  

It's as if we are still trying to find each other before we can move any further.  

Hobart is mad.  Mad that he and I weren't really aware of Mickey Guyton, Brittney Spencer, Rissi Palmer (!) and Chapel Hart among a group of Black women taking a stand for country music that speaks to their lives as well as the typical country music that we all know about.  We discuss that dissonance -- and Beyonce -- and Hobart weighs in on the vagaries of the music business around all this.  

As we begin to hatch this crystal egg of a project, we are working on dealing with the meta-ness of what we are doing.  Fortunately this episode is a quick 20 minutes!

Hobart had a chance to interview Dom Flemons, Grammy-award winning co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops as well as Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist and vocalist on his new album Traveling Wildfire. 

The interview took place at the famed Focal Point music club in Maplewood, Missouri, near St Louis.  Information about Dom Flemons can be found on his website: www.theamericansongster.com