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