The China Show Newsletter - January 2026

Hello and welcome to our Newsletter! - January 2026

We appreciate you being here as a free member, and wanted to give you guys some updates as to what has been going on!

We have 4 Xiaban Hou! Episodes per month, every Monday! - The video above is a preview of each one!

1. First, we covered what China was like right before, and right after the Communist takeover.

Think of this as a full on documentary, because we went into serious depth about what life was like for the average person in China During the end of the Qing Dynasty, going into the Nationalist government takeover, and then into the CCP takeover.

We went through what people ate, wore, how much things costed, and what their daily routine was, and how it changed.

One of our best episodes, in our opinion.

1. In our next episode, we went through what China actually looks like. This time, we dropped into Hebei province, randomly, and went into street view to see how things look these days.

   
   Let’s just say, things didn’t look great, but it’s very representative as to how China looks in real life vs the propaganda that you see online.
   It’s a great wake up call for your friends that think China is living in the future, and a very helpful reference for winning arguments against people that have drank too much of the Chinese government Kool-Aid.

2. Next, we covered China’s AI Boyfriends/Girlfriends. In this episode, we talk about, and show how China’s loneliness epidemic is causing massive issues in society, including how people are now turning to virtual assistants for romance and relationships.

   
   This is one we don't want to revisit because it's so uncomfortable, but for some reason, you guys keep voting for it... If you want to see us cringe to death, and try and suffer through these apps, you’re going to love this one. We didn’t… but everyone else did… Absolutely hilarious.
   
   4. Our final episode of the month/year was called Winston vs. Matt - The Ultimate Showdown.

   
   This was a challenge of sorts, where we both made a powerpoint about a topic neither of us knew about, in an effort to teach each other something. There was one rule. It couldn’t be about China.
   
   Winston covered Glovers vs. Sliders, a new rivalry that’s been brewing online, and Matt covered places in the world that look completely otherworldly.
   Then the audience had to vote on who had the more interesting presentation.
   
   This one was an absolute blast to put together.
   
   If any of those interested you, or you want to see the rest of the 180+ episodes, please consider upgrading your membership to the $10 non-live tier, or if you want to watch every episode live, chat with us, and give us topic ideas/vote on the next topic, please upgrade to the $20 tier. http://patreon.com/advpodcasts
   
   We also had our yearly ROYAL RUMBLE! - All the characters in The China Show faced off in the ring to see who could last the longest. It was an absolute blast, and you can watch it for free here - https://youtube.com/live/sqXRJTJWreg

   
   On The China Show - expect a lot of Geopolitics coming soon, because of the Latin America situation heating up, and China’s response to this whole shift in the global order.

   
   Of course, things in China have been changing too. The economy isn’t looking so hot for the people on the ground, so there will definitely be coverage there, but also some analysis on Chinese social media, as more and more people are coming out in support of China’s global expansionism, and looking at the brazen opinion of Chinese influencers shows how China is pulling the strings to say the things that it can’t REALLY say out loud.
   
   2026 is gearing up to be a really interesting year, and whether that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but what we can guarantee, is that we will be here to tell you how it is!