The White Pube

We’re very happy to announce that the 18th recipient of The White Pube Writers Grant is... Tuğçe Özbiçer! Tuğçe is a London-based Turkish journalist, writer and photographer from Istanbul. We found real care and value in her writing, which reaches from searing human rights-focused articles to softer texts that reflects on lyrics, home and love. Not only did we feel this in Tuğçe’s work, but so did a friend who emailed us to back her submission, writing that ’I’m constantly in awe of the way she writes in a language that is not even her own. I’d love for your audience to be able to read her work too and for Tuğçe to realise that her stories are worth telling here.’ We agree and we hope you enjoy getting to know Tuğçe’s work as well.

If you want the text version of Arabesque, to look back at previous recipients, or to find out more about the grant, you can head here: https://www.thewhitepube.co.uk/writersgrant :)

This week, I played the remastered Uncharted 4 that was released earlier this year as part of the Legacy of Thieves collection for PS5. It's a very cool game but that's exactly why I didn't like it. In this text, I write about how much I prefer embarrassment over coolness as a quality in the culture I spend time with. Written version on The White Pube! Thank you to our Patreons! I somehow forgot to mention the emoji summary in this recording so of course it's 🧗🥵😎. Happy Sunday everybody!!!

New series just dropped. We have been writing on The White Pube since 2015 but we only actually started this podcast at the end of 2020. There are a tonne of texts that we haven’t shared here. In this new series, we’ll be revisiting our old writing, reading it out and then discussing it. We’ll be chatting about whether or not we still agree with what we said. Does it make us cringe lol? If we were to write the same text now, what we would do differently? And of course, we’ll mention how the text was received and any related controversies that followed because god, there have been so many. These bonus episodes of the podcast will roughly be released twice a month — they’re gonna be throwbacks, exorcisms, apologies, and good times too.

For the first instalment, we revisit Gabrielle’s 2019 text ‘why museums are bad vibes.’ Spoiler: museums are even worse vibes here in 2022 💔

Find the transcript to this on our website here + we’re going to be uploading podcasts to YouTube now too!!!

Thank you to our Patreon supporters for being the best

This week's text is a review of SHE KEEPS ME DAMN ALIVE, a game by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. This text is (tbh) less a review, more a document or journal entry of my experience playing through, a way for me to write through my feelings and hold on to the intensity of this game. 

You can read the written version of this on our website here: thewhitepube.com/art-reviews/she-keeps-me-damn-alive/

You can watch Gab & Danielle's conversation here: gdlp.co.uk/posts/arebyte-interview/

You can support us on Patreon here: patreon.com/thewhitepube (& thank you to our patrons!!!)

This week's text is a review of the new Pokémon: Legends Arceus game. When the game came out, I literally sat down and played it for 5 days without moving, having the time of my life. But when it came to writing about it, I started to think about what I really want from a Pokémon game and how Arceus did and didn't match up. 

Written version of this review is available on our website here :)

Thank you to our Patreon supporters :) love you

This week's text is a review of Gut Feelings Meri Jaan, a show at Touchstones by Jasleen Kaur and a group of collaborators from Rochdale. 

The written version of this text is available on thewhitepube.com/art-reviews/gutfeelingsmerijaan/

And as usual, thank you to our Patreon gang for supporting our weekly writing! Hope u all have a cute n happy Valentines weekend, here r some kisses from us, 2 u xxxxxx

This week's review is on Unpacking, a small pixel art puzzle game about unpacking items into rooms, available now on Switch, Xbox, PC/Mac. And so, I... didn't love it. But this text is about how, actually, I don't even want to love everything I play. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes love is too much, sometimes I only want things to be fine. 

The written version of this text is available on thewhitepube.com/games/unpacking

Thank you to our Patreon gang for supporting our weekly writing! 

This week's text is a Very Embarrassing essay about why i love period dramas & yearning. tl;dr, they've got Hot Vibes. and other things have those same vibe. And i think i'm toxic femininity. down catastrophically bad, send help. 

You can read this text on thewhitepube.com/art-thoughts/perioddramas

Thank you to our Patreon supporters for keeping us fed & watered & causing chaos. <3

This week's review on Apex Legends considers the narrative value of an elaborate first person shooter, or why I have just sunk 557 hours into a game that goes bang bang. I love it. This was the easiest review to write in the world, the most enjoyable. The only problem was it took me away from the game for a few hours. Okay, posting this review and then going back to where I belong, the world of Apex Legends. 

The written version of this text is available here.

Thank you to our Patreon supporters for keeping the lights on (and the gas on, oh my god, the gas). 

Well, it's been a year. In today's episode, Gabrielle and Zarina sit down to talk about the impact Long Covid has had on Gabrielle's life, body, head, whole world. It's been a year of learning about the instability of chronic illness, trying to find stability through it, and failing over and over again. There is so much more to say on the matter but this is all the poison I could suck out of the wound for now. 

You can find the transcription for this episode here: https://www.thewhitepube.co.uk/year-of-long-covid

Thank you to our Patreon supporters for their kindness and love.