Tory Shepherd
Tory Shepherd studied anthropology, then travelled, then studied some more, then travelled, then ended up with a cadetship at The Advertiser in 2006. She covered police rounds, politics, general news and health, while working at The Punch on the side. Now Tory is working full time at The Punch. She can be seen and heard on ABC local radio and Radio National, PM Live on Sky, and in other nooks and crannies. She is passionate about words, wine, chilli, soccer, and people (even the ones who hate her or keep praying for her soul). Follow her on Twitter - @ToryShepherd
Articles by Tory Shepherd
A failed experiment in making science sexy
If gyrating, giggling girls pouting amid suggestive splashes of pinkness and wetness doesn’t turn boys onto science, what will? A…... Read more
Once upon a time there lived a White Knight called Gina
We all know what a ‘White Knight’ is, right? A stereotype, a stock fairytale character. A dashing creature – male,…... Read more
Why should we care that Kerri-Anne has cancer?
Confession: I have celebrity sympathy fatigue. My initial reaction to news of Grant Hackett’s rampage, to Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s breast cancer…... Read more
Sleeping out is really rough
Where would you go if you had to sleep rough? Would you sleep in a cemetery, a doorway, a drain,…... Read more
Bogans all let us rejoice
We come into this world naked and squalling. Red in the neck, uncouth. Unsophisticated. Obsessed with boobs, loud, annoying, a…... Read more
And humans said: Let there be marriage! And there was…
“If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done…... Read more
Let’s all meet up in the year 2050 - won’t it be strange?
Where will you be in 2050? According to a new report on Australia’s digital future you could be working from…... Read more
When the Family Court goes beyond the call of duty
A child deserves to know if their father is a paedophile. A child probably deserves to know why any judge…... Read more
Don’t put all asylum seekers in the same boat
Someone, please, grant us the compassion to accept the genuine refugees, the courage to find the scammers, and the wisdom…... Read more
Let’s not wig out over this sex worker’s story
It has been a tawdry tale told by our tabloid television shows. A former prostitute who claimed she had serviced…... Read more
When childbirth becomes deadly, then we can judge
A mother knows best. Except when she doesn’t. Women are judged harshly on every aspect of childbirth and child raising,…... Read more
You tailgating me, punk?
Confession: I’m a nanna driver. I hunch over that wheel as though it’s a Zimmer frame, bent forward with my…... Read more
Abbott has dug a big hole over ‘disastrous’ carbon tax
The Opposition’s unrelenting attack on the Government over carbon pricing has been simple and devastatingly effective. But Tony Abbott probably…... Read more
Time for children to realise we can’t all be above average
We should be preparing children for a life full of bitter disappointments. Magic might not happen. Just because you dream…... Read more
ICB: Is white bread the worst thing since sliced bread?
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit column. It’s a regular column that looks at skulduggery and balderdash, spurious reasoning…... Read more
Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
Hansonism’s back – and we’re not just talking about Pauline appearing as a sometime wannabe journo for Today Tonight. Her…... Read more
The discovery that will put you off drinking forever
People are always trying to convince us to drink less. Think of the children, they say. Think of the liver.…... Read more
South Australia. It’s the middle bottom bit.
If South Australia had just arrived in the world, red and wrinkled and mewling, what would we call it? Something…... Read more
Mass hysteria, monkey men, and penis panics
Shit! Who knew you could catch Tourette’s Syndrome online? Well you, can’t, not really. But you may be able to…... Read more
Labor’s new strategy of Speaking No Evil
Did you know that ostriches do not actually bury their heads in the sand? They do scratch around a bit…... Read more
Time to put ‘positive discrimination’ down?
Positive discrimination is, if not dead, at least on life support with an overeager nurse reaching for the off switch.…... Read more
Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
The worship of ‘working families’ is a bipartisan affair – all sides of politics fall over themselves to appeal to…... Read more
When skeptics go soft: A slightly different ICB
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit. It’s a weird one. An email arrived in my inbox yesterday spruiking “Australian…... Read more
How Swan almost took a dive on the Budget Speech
Trapped in a political death roll, Treasurer Wayne Swan prepared a Budget speech that would see him go down in…... Read more
Who cares about the Budget? We’ve got Craig Thomson!
Right now the nation’s brightest political minds are trapped in the recycled air of Budget lock up, sniffing out black…... Read more
Be a bit sceptical about the new breed of doubters
In The Bible, Doubting Thomas famously put his hand into Jesus’ wound and had a good grope around to convince…... Read more
ICB: House the homeless before asylum seekers?
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column where we take a look at codswallop and propaganda, logical…... Read more
Good news, Australia! You’re actually doing just fine
Australia still has the haves and the have-nots, but more people now see themselves in the ‘have not’ camp. How…... Read more
Keep Calm and Carry On - it’s just the Olympics
In one of the world’s most impressive displays of bristling military might, the UK armed forces are creating a £600…... Read more
Australian politics gets curiouser and curiouser
Australian politics at the moment is a strange sort of Wonderland. It’s filled with odd characters – some weird, some…... Read more
Why Miss World contestants are sometimes not ‘native’
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the reject miscreants of a dying civilisation stole a starship…... Read more
Octoslum: When a mum can’t keep up with her litter
If a clean house is a sign of a wasted life then Octomom’s filthy home shows… what, exactly? Turns out…... Read more
Wake up and find some end-of-life style
Dusty plastic flowers. Droning dirges. A cut-and-paste eulogy that uses the phrase ‘member of the community’. Instant coffee. Squeezed into…... Read more
Confessions of a soccer diva
Oh, I can dive. I can soar like an eagle through the air then somersault like an acrobat. In my…... Read more
ICB: Freedom of religion vs. freedom from religion
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column on, well, bullshit. Today, dear readers, it’s a three-in-one unholy…... Read more
Gibson: Is it time to take pity on the racist potty mouth?
The sight of a famous person crumbling is irresistible. People love to see the mighty fallen, to gloat over leaked…... Read more
Five people who should never be Mayor. Of anywhere.
Mayors are an integral and important part of our political process. Who else would bin the bin emptiers? Who else…... Read more
Shackle Anders Breivik like the dog that he is
The least they could have done is shackled the maleficent beast so he couldn’t proudly give his right-wing salute. If…... Read more
One divine secret about this ra-ra Sisterhood
It’s called a glass ceiling because it’s invisible. There’s no roid-filled, bicep-thrusting bouncer at the door denying you entry, just…... Read more
A new start for the Greens or the beginning of the end?
Did anyone see that coming? Greens Leader Bob Brown’s shock resignation today came out of a clear blue sky, and…... Read more
ICB: Faking it - I cannut believe it’s not peanut butter
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a weekly look at bollocks and balderdash, spin and pseudoscience. This week’s bullshit…... Read more
Conservatives: Are they right or will they be left behind?
Yet another study has emerged that appears to put people with conservative political views in a somewhat shady light. The…... Read more
Don’t dump this carbon tax junk on the government
The carbon tax is burley in the water and the feeding frenzies are fierce. Circling this morning are a few…... Read more
Atheists would find it hard to believe they’re in Heaven
Dawkins was snooty. Pell was outwitted. The questions were predictable, as were the mentions of Hitler and Stalin. There were…... Read more
Why beautiful people should stick to what they’re good at
It’s no longer enough that the Beautiful People taunt us Mere Mortals with their poreless, flawless skin, their lack of…... Read more
ICB: Barbie exists to make children feel normal
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column on spin and skulduggery, pseudoscience and shenanigans. This week we’re…... Read more
War on drugs is just a political smokescreen
It would take a brave government to decriminalise drugs – even if it was just marijuana, which is generally less…... Read more
An exorcise in making the supernatural sexy
Is your church plagued by plummeting attendance levels? Is your exorcism business in the red? Are the tea leaves telling…... Read more
Stop skirting the rape issue and cut it off at the knees
Miniskirts will be declared pornography and Indonesia will ban them as a politician says “provocative clothing” made men “do things”.…... Read more
Are you mad as hell and not going to take it anymore?
A deranged TV anchor threatens to kill himself, then resurrects his career by ranting and raving on television, screaming his…... Read more
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Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
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