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The Panel for Thursday 18 December 2025

The Pre-Panel for 18 December 2025

Wallace Chapman and producer José Barbosa preview tonight's instalment of The Panel.

Relaxed smile portrait of Wallace Chapman on grey background

Photo: RNZ / Jeff McEwan

 

The Panel with Ed Amon and Jo McCarroll, Part 1
 
Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Ed Amon and Jo McCarroll.
 
First up, are there green shoots on the horizon at long last? GDP figures out today are higher than even the most optimistic predictions. ANZ's chief economist Sharon Zollner gives her analysis.

Then, did former deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming get off light with his sentencing of home detention yesterday? The director of a charity protecting children from sexual exploitation, Eleanor Parkes, breaks down the legality of his actions.

Disgraced former deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming was sentenced to nine months home detention at the Wellington District Court on 17 December.

Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone


 
The Panel with Ed Amon and Jo McCarroll, Part 2
 
In part two, Waikato Regional Council has voted to keep Auckland to Hamilton passenger train, Te Huia, chugging along. Public Transport Users Association coordinator Jon Reeves is over the moon.

Botox use is on the rise amongst men in New Zealand and overseas.

Photo: ADAM GAULT


 
The Panel Plus
 
An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan.
 
Then: the manosphere - a part of the internet that capitalises on the insecurities of young men - is booming, and so is business. But how did it end up in the mainstream? Queensland University of Technology Sociology Professor, Michael Flood, explains. 

Jack says manosphere influencers sell young men "a quick fix" to complexities like forming healthy relationships.

  The TV show 'Adolescence' shows how young men are influenced online Photo: Netflix