Interview | Money, Iranian-American Identity, and Romance: Chelsea Fagan on Building a Business and Writing a Political Love Story

In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, Leyla sits down with Chelsea Fagan—founder of The Financial Diet and author of the new novel High Dive. Known for blending personal finance with cultural critique, Chelsea joins Leyla for a wide-ranging conversation that covers:

• Why she wrote a romance novel with a Persian American love interest

  
  

• Navigating privilege, assimilation, and identity in immigrant communities

  
  

• Representing Iranian culture through a “cultural reader” and deep research

  
  

• The challenge of launching a joyful project in a dark political moment

  
  

• What it means to speak out as a business owner—and how capitalism shapes silence

  
  

This is a conversation about complexity: what it means to hold joy and grief at the same time, to create art that is political without being preachy, and to run an ethical business in a deeply unequal world.

📚 High Dive is out May 27th!
👉 Learn more about Chelsea: @faganchelsea on Instagram and @TheFinancialDiet
🎧 Leyla mentions this video by Chelsea: Watch on YouTube