Peak-Hour Pain and Passport Games: Ameren’s Mystery Charges, Tucker’s Ben Gurion “Detention,” and Missouri’s Checklist State

International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better · Feb 19, 2026 · 1h 29m · transcript

Today’s International Flavor starts exactly where it should: a full-blooded, Mid-Missouri rant about a $645 Ameren bill, “on-peak” voodoo, mystery riders, and the kind of fees that make you want to buy a generator out of spite. From there you bounce into headlines and travel reality—Tucker Carlson’s account of being hassled at Ben Gurion after interviewing Ambassador Huckabee, plus your own border-check war stories. Music breaks the mood: Viktor Tsoi/Kino (“Gruppa Krovi”) and Lana Del Rey (“Summertime Sadness”). Then a teaser for Friday’s Civic Outlaws: the “checklist state” and agency…