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
We must be clever to avoid being the dumb country
Far from being useless precursors to a life of burger flipping, Arts degrees actually provide students with a range of…... Read more
How I became a member of the ‘I’m not racist, but’ club
I almost wish I hadn’t written this column last week. I argued that Adelaide recruiter Matthew Rendell should not have…... Read more
Will the really offended people please stand up?
If only Wikileaker Julian Assange was in the Government and could leak the actual footage of these mysterious focus groups…... Read more
Wanted dead or alive?
Police wanted to capture Mohammed Merah alive, but in the end a sniper killed him as he jumped out of…... Read more
ICB: Poor widdle Tasers are just misunderstood
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column that looks at deceit and disingenuousness, spin and fabrication. Now,…... Read more
Clive Palmer’s truth is really out there
Writer and activist Susan Sontag said: “I envy paranoids. They actually feel people are paying attention to them”. People were…... Read more
Football race row really not that black and white
Hands up anyone who has never said something that could sound racist. A joke, an anecdote, an off-the-cuff comment. Something…... Read more
When do we stop calling Tasers ‘non-lethal’?
Today’s weasel word award goes to the term ‘non-lethal’, frequently used to describe Tasers. It’s especially weaselly when the term…... Read more
Teachers that need to be taught a lesson
Dry ice. Wrong in so many ways. Wrong in an 80s dance floor sort of way. Wrong in a dodgy…... Read more
ICB: Playing heroes and villains with Kony 2012
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit. Today we’re looking at the super-viral Kony 2012 campaign by Invisible Children, a…... Read more
Are the Democrats dying or is it just a flesh wound?
Political parties with more than 500 members include the Australian Sex Party, the HEMP Party, the Shooters and Fishers Party,…... Read more
At least we can all agree that free speech is good…
Yumi Stynes had the right to parp out her little brain fart about Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith. We have the right…... Read more
When hard sell charities make it hard to give
Charities have moved from a modest Mary MacKillop model to a flashy, superficial Angelina Jolie one. Many are more mega…... Read more
Watch out - it’s a booby trap
Two mates of mine – one large breasted, one small breasted – were talking about the first thing they’d do…... Read more
ICB: It helps if offensive jokes are funny
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular Punch column that looks at crap and calumny, fibs, fictions and…... Read more
Five dumb health mistakes even smart people make
There’s a steaming pile of rubbish out there about health. There’s plenty of money to be made from offering too-good-to-be-true…... Read more
You’re kidding if you think all women should be mothers
Psychotic. Mongoose. Saboteur. Liar. Traitor. Dysfunctional. Egotistical. Childless. In week of whirring insults, the claim that ex-PM ex-FM Kevin Rudd…... Read more
Exclusive: Harry Potter and the Faceless Men
The Punch presents an exclusive peek at Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s first foray into writing for grownups, following her…... Read more
If only Julia Gillard was always this convincing
It’s really quite surprising that Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s head has not yet exploded, spraying reform-flavoured bits of grey matter…... Read more
Seven things I would miss if men became extinct
Looks like men are going to be OK. Some panic merchants were putting it about that the Y chromosome would…... Read more
Pets are not the best people
You can pet a human, but you really shouldn’t human a pet. Things can get… a bit sick. No, not…... Read more
Relax - you’re not depressed. It’s all in your head.
It’s a puzzling paradox that while people with mental illnesses are still battling stigma, the ‘worried well’ will gleefully embrace…... Read more
I wanna knock the bottom out of this advertisement
He rammed her head against the headboard. She tried to master the silent scream. She is left with a limp…... Read more
ICB: Anti-vaxxers injecting credibility into their cause
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column that looks at pseudoscience and magical thinking. Unsurprisingly, vaccination pops…... Read more
Running for cover in the health insurance debate
Taking out health insurance is basically a gamble. You’re putting your coins in the slot every week or month, hoping…... Read more
Come out, come out, wherever you are!
People think I’m gay all the time. It could be the soccer or the lack of feminine wiles. A colleague…... Read more
Love in the time of sharia
Happy Valentine’s Day. May your day be free from cutesy little devil horns and squealing flower recipients and (most of…... Read more
Would you kill for a job?
Who would work in an abattoir? Most of us have done jobs we didn’t want to do because we needed…... Read more
ICB: If I could offer you only one tip for the future…
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, an irregular regular column on calumny and codswallop. This week we’re looking at…... Read more
The humourless hysteria of the holier-than-thou
In I Spit On Your Grave, a young woman is gang raped in a remote woodland. She is beaten and…... Read more
Interest rate barney barely even rates as interesting
Stop all the cheering, cut off the champagne. Prevent the pollies from barking and silence the drums. The piddling interest…... Read more
Don’t blame the beautiful game for riot shame
If badminton was the World Game there would probably be just as many riots as there are now with soccer.…... Read more
The Rinehart whine came straight from the heart
You can’t blame Hope Rinehart for trying to get her Mum to pay for a cook, a housekeeper and a…... Read more
These parents think their son shouldn’t have been born
How would you feel if you found out that your mere existence is such a burden on your parents they…... Read more
Home births are prone to many complications
Once upon a time, home births were the only option, and mothers and babies frequently died. Things have changed dramatically…... Read more
Blame no one – and everyone – for the Oz Day debacle
As murky details continue to emerge about the Australia Day ‘riot’, so do the murky conspiracy theories. In reaction to…... Read more
Singing the praises of the unsung heroes
The world is ruled by extroverts. The loudest voices, unsurprisingly, are often the only ones we hear. The Australia Day…... Read more
Beware the pro-lifers doing hard Labor on abortion
Labor for Life may sound like a North Korean punishment but it is, in fact, a fringe group that apparently…... Read more
We need a strong constitution to tackle racism
It will be a shameful day for Australia if it does not change its Constitution to both prohibit racial discrimination…... Read more
ICB: Is Mark Wahlberg really Hangin’ Tough?
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit column. In a world full of bunkum, it’s often hard to narrow the…... Read more
Should we name and shame online racists?
The interwebs are a cesspit of bigotry, bullying and racism, hate and snuff porn, and all things dark and evil,…... Read more
All’s not fair in war
In the film Balibo, five journalists paint an Australian flag and the word ‘Australia’ on the wall of their ‘safe’…... Read more
Women and children first, or every man for himself?
When a boat goes down, should women and children be able to jump to the front of the lifeboat queue?…... Read more
ICB: Magic detox diets - just intoxicating marketing?
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a regular column where we pick apart mischievous misrepresentations, balderdash, and outright bunkum.…... Read more
Using deodorant and other great Aussie traditions
A Coalition suggestion that migrants need deodorant classes is an outrageous, racist furphy. It’s an absolute myth that Poms are…... Read more
I am angry white man, hear me roar
There’s a movement that sees males - generally straight, middle-aged, white males - as the new oppressed. No, seriously. Men’s…... Read more
Who you gonna call when cosmetic surgery goes wrong?
In the 1940s Japanese prostitutes injected themselves with non-medical grade silicone or paraffin, or inserted sponges into their chests because…... Read more
If only you could bend space-time to hide your shame…
The God Particle is so 2011. This year’s sexy science story is a hole in time. Yes, it’s a sci-fi…... Read more
The end is not nigh
‘Tis the season for many predictions. Here’s mine: The world will not end. Earth will not be ripped apart by…... Read more
Creating death in a test tube
It’s the stuff of an edge-of-your-seat thriller: Scientists develop a fatal flu virus, one that could decimate humanity. What happens…... Read more
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Up to the minute Twitter chatter
RT @johnluu: Amazing story of how a @triplej journo does her job visually-impaired. Goosebumps. http://t.co/N0ApEppril (via @abcmarkscott)
Writing column on orgasmic birth. Needed last line. Inspired by this necklace I bought. http://t.co/PgQ7jtGxaE
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
The Punch is moving house
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
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”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
