Professional Talkers

It's so stereotypically scary, but it doesn't have to be! Mike, Sequoia, and SEQUOIA'S MOM give advice about how to prep for and act at your high school reunion so that you can enjoy time with friends, chitchat with acquaintances, and humiliate your enemies! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N...

This one has been sitting in our "topics to cover" document for TOO LONG. We're happy to finally help you help your friends help themselves and leave a bad relationship. Sequoia brings more of the expertise here, though Mike makes up for his lack of experience in this area with an elite on-the-road podcasting setup. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Pr...

Whether you are looking to turn an acquaintance into a friend or a friend into a VERY CLOSE FRIEND, Mike and Sequoia (as well as actual expert at this, Sherry) have got you covered! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

It's another listener mailbag episode for a complex (and often awkward) situation, weddings! With so many angles to approach these events, we decided to answer every question our listeners submitted! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

It's time for another guest expert episode of Professional Talkers! Mel Rubin (@money.with.mel) joins Mike and Sequoia to help guide you through all sorts of situations where money comes up in conversations with friends! When your squad fits into a wide range of tax brackets, things can get awkward. BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO IF YOU FOLLOW OUR ADVICE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

We've had too hectic of schedules to release of proper episode this week, but Mike had time to hop on the mic and discuss his advice and pitfalls when dealing with customer service when something has gone wrong in your travels/shopping/etc.! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://...

Another guest expert episode of Professional Talkers is here! This time, Sequoia and Schubes are joined by Sal Tamarkin to discuss how to navigate a conversation where you dislike the person on the other end, but they have no idea. We're here to help this conversation go not great, but just fine (which is exactly what you want!). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...

Sequoia talks from actual experience and Mike talks from "shoulda, woulda, coulda" experience about how to humble yourself and ask your friends for help. It shouldn't be that scary! Your friends wants to help you! If they don't want to help you, they aren't your friends! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

The holiday season can throw you so many curveballs that our best course of action was to do a grab-bag episode where both of us came up with advice on how to navigate our top holiday-themed yikes moments, and we closed it out by giving advice on suggestions from our Patreon! Wanna help with the production of the show? Join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/professionaltalkers Learn more abou...

To celebrate our 10th episode, we're bookending our discussion from Episode 1 by teaching you how to GET OUT of a conversation! From things you can say to things you can do to things you can rely on, we've got all the advice to follow and pitfalls to avoid so that you won't have to resort to an Irish Exit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at h...

Uh oh, you have to break the news to your friend that the thing they like has some problems with it. Not sure of how to handle it? Feat not! The Professional Talkers, both of which started out as Harry Potter podcasters, have EXCESSIVE EXPERIENCE in this area. We've got ya covered! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...

Mike and Sequoia, no strangers to breakups, share their thoughts on how to best handle the situation when you are the one delivering the bad news. One of our Professional Talkers mainly has been broken up with, while the other has mostly done the breaking up. Which is which? LISTEN TO FIND OUT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

Life threw some lemons at us this week, but rather than make lemonade, Mike made a bonus episode about how to write an email! Whether it's for business, family, or friends, Mike's got the advice and pitfalls you may face when an awkward conversation goes digital. We hope you enjoy and we'll be back with Episode 8 in two weeks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Se...

Who better to bring on as an expert to discuss how to best talk to bosses THAN SEQUOIA'S OLD BOSS, ELLIOT DAVIS? I'll tell ya who, NO ONE! Added bonus, Elliot made the beautiful artwork for our podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

We've got another expert in the mix, Jeffrey Cranor from Welcome to Night Vale, to help us with an essential (and accidentally timely) topic: having uncomfortable conversations with folks close to you at holiday gatherings, office parties, and the like! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

Mike and Sequoia tackle a tricky subject in which Mike somehow has somehow successfully naviagted FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES! Want to see Mike and Sequoia live on stage in Providence, RI or via livestream? Get tickets to the next The Newest Olympian live show at https://www.thenewestolympian.com/live Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

We're back with more conversational advice! This time, we're here to help you properly apologize to a friend. No one likes admitting they're wrong and we all have the tendency to get defensive, so it can be tough. We get it! Fear not, though, as we've got some advice for you to follow and a whole mess of pitfalls to avoid. SEE MIKE AND SEQUOIA LIVE ON 9/13: https://www.thenewestolympian.com/live L...

Whether you're friends with, acquaintances of, or married to your roommate, telling them they're being messy can be incredibly awkward! Thankfully, Schubes and Sequoia are here to advise you in various ways to ensure the conversation is as smooth as freshly cleaned floor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califo...

It's our first relationships episode AND it's our first episode with an external guest! To help you ensure that your first dates are never awkward, we've brought in relationships writer Sophia Beniot. We know these are testy waters, so we knew we needed someone checking our advice and pitfalls to ensure they were sound. And speaking of checking, the podcast ghost, Sherry Guo, is back for another G...

For our first episode, we help you navigate the awkward waters of having to make small talk at a party where the only person you know is the host. We give advice on approaches you could take to help yourself out, identify pitfalls of which you should certainly steer clear, and ponder the intricacies behind the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Plenty of sound advice in this episode, but Sequoia t...

Episode 1 of Professional Talkers releases on 7/14/25! If you want to see Mike & Sequoia ask each other awkward questions as a prelude to this podcast, support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ProfessionalTalkers    Professional Talkers is a comedic advice podcast all about navigating life's awkward conversations. Hosts Mike Schubert (Potterless, The Newest Olympian) and Sequoia Simone...