Spellbreakers Ep. 114: Is China's Population Data Faked?

In this introspective episode of Spellbreakers, Matt Trump invites viewers into a deep dive on one of the strangest modern mysteries: Is the population of China, officially 1.4 billion, massively overstated? Matt explores mounting skepticism, viral video evidence, and a peer-reviewed study from the University of Chicago suggesting China's economy may be a third the size we've been told, raising questions about both GDP and population accuracy.

From eerily empty cities and subway stations to baffling inconsistencies in voting and census data, the episode also explores similar suspicions around inflated figures in countries like Nigeria, where official stats say 250 million citizens exist, but turnout and population density tell another story. Matt ties it all together with reflections on political incentives, demographic manipulation, and the danger of blindly trusting state-provided data.

Then the show pivots to a crash course in the Opium Wars, tracing how British opium traders destabilized 19th-century China and laid the foundation for Western dominance and the so-called "Century of Humiliation." With Hong Kong, reparations, and imperial concessions on the table, Matt weaves historical parallels to modern global power plays and hints at where the rabbit hole might lead next week, with a tease about American ties to the opium trade... and JFK.