Dear Chelsea – “Disagreeing with Isla Fisher”

Podcast: Dear Chelsea (iHeartPodcasts)
Host: Chelsea Handler
Co-host: Catherine Law
Guest: Isla Fisher
Date: November 13, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of "Dear Chelsea" features comedian and author Chelsea Handler alongside co-host Catherine Law, with special guest Isla Fisher (known from "Wedding Crashers," "Arrested Development," and the "Now You See Me" franchise). The conversation weaves together comedic banter about personal lives, parenting, family dysfunction, friendship, and the art of navigating disagreements. As always, listeners call in for advice, sparking candid and sometimes hilarious discussions on how to deal with tricky relationships—ranging from difficult siblings and in-law parenting differences to the ever-challenging territory of social media.

1. Catching Up: Life Updates & Banter

• Chelsea’s Touring and Busy Schedule

  • Chelsea shares upcoming tour dates for her “High and Mighty” comedy tour, running February through June.
  • Discusses recent adventures: stand-up shows, parties, celebrity run-ins, and prepping for a trip to Antarctica.
  • (05:07–07:57) Humorous take on frequent travels, theme parties, and failing to catch event details — “I'm not dressing up for theme parties. I have to bring so many puffy and ski clothes down to Antarctica. Like, I don't have room for theme night activities.” – Chelsea Handler (06:32)

• Introduction of Isla Fisher

  • Friendly banter about Stella McCartney, missed messages, and birthday parties.
  • Discussion about odd celebrity requests (“Would you do this campaign nude for veganism?”), and gifting/returning Stella McCartney’s clothes:
    • “She asked me last year I was in London. She's like, you know what? Would you do this campaign with me where you're just nude? You're the only one who has the guts to be nude.” – Chelsea Handler (09:25)

2. Isla Fisher’s Life & Career

• Personal & Career Updates

  • Isla is in a period of transition, balancing motherhood with her career:
    • “Now you're free to work because the kids are growing up… It's like I've got a whole new identity.” – Isla Fisher (11:52)
  • Talks about her new movies:
    • “Spa Weekend” (ensemble female comedy shot in Australia; co-stars Michelle Buteau)
    • “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” (the latest franchise installment)

• Upbringing & Identity

  • Isla shares her multicultural background: Scottish parents, born in Oman, lived across the Middle East, England, and Australia.
    • “I have, like a super complicated cultural identity… my mom was convinced that our lives were—that there was going to be a nuclear war and that we were safe in Australia.” – Isla Fisher (13:12, 13:36)

• Family Dynamics & Dysfunction

  • Both Chelsea and Isla bond over loving but eccentric and “dysfunctional” families.
    • “I don't know anybody who has a normal, functional upbringing. And that was like, oh, my... Unless, like, some older white men will say that. They'll be like—” – Chelsea Handler (14:45)

3. Views on Friendship, Parenting, and Womanhood

Friendship

• Both speak candidly about the evolving value of female friendships as they get older, particularly after relationship changes or moving cities.

  • “The women have, like, got me through the last two years. My friendships have been just so important to me.” – Isla Fisher (27:56)

• Openness with new friends is now key:

  • “Like, I just go, okay, this is what I'm great at. This is what I'm not great at… It's almost like dating, but with women.” – Isla Fisher (30:26)

Parenting

• Isla’s Parenting Philosophy:

  • Advocates for giving her kids self-validation instead of seeking external approval.
    • “I have tried very much to reinforce anything they do... So they're not searching for external validation... I just try to create a world in which... they have a beautiful relationship with themselves.” – Isla Fisher (22:34)
  • Highlight: Letting kids resolve conflicts, sometimes by intentionally “not hearing” their calls for help (23:00).

• Chelsea on Parenting Others' Kids:

  • Practical, boundaries-based advice for parenting in extended families and at gatherings.
  • Reflects on her own family’s rule-setting for group vacations, suggesting listeners borrow her written ground rules.

Social Media & Self-Image

• Honest discussion about social media’s effects on self-esteem—for both kids and adults.
  • “The benefits, the capitalistic benefits that are being made from like targeting women and their body images and how the algorithms work… It's terribly cruel.” – Isla Fisher (25:32)
  • Both agree on the need for healthy boundaries and regular breaks from online platforms.

4. Disagreement, Openness & The Art of Advice

Political & Cultural Polarization

• Isla expresses appreciation for the English tendency to keep politics and religion private, contrasting it with the American climate where “someone's opinions become their identity”:
  • “There seems to be, you know, in London, people are a little more... careful to put civility and connection above... someone's opinions become their identity.” – Isla Fisher (17:19)
• Chelsea admits to the challenge of being around people with conflicting views but acknowledges the value of open conversation and resisting emotional bubbles.
  • “It's nice to not even have that be part of the conversation at all.” – Chelsea Handler (18:05)

5. Listener Advice Calls & Memorable Moments

Call 1: The Antisocial Mom (39:00)

Situation: Mom struggles with continuing her daughter's friendship with a peer whose parents are “brutally awkward.”
Advice:

• Isla: “Nine's really old to be going on a play date for an extra set of hands... I'd be like, goodbye, goodbye. Have a cocktail and stay home.” (39:08)
• Chelsea: “Those people are probably feeling the same exact way that you're feeling... If it's not a match, don't push it.” (39:30)

Call 2: Sibling Rivalry & Estrangement (Nicole) (42:24)

Situation: Nicole is estranged from her sister, feels overwhelmed by loneliness, and wants relief from the emotional pain.
Advice:

• Chelsea recommends a “loving kindness meditation” and reframing the absence as a gift:
  • “Take whatever break that she's giving as a gift... reframe it in your mind as like, this is a gift that has been given me.” (45:31)
• Isla: Encourages openness to trying again if time and boundaries don’t heal the pain, but also notes it's okay to “cut the cord and then name your baby after her.” (50:13, 52:51)
• Chelsea: Suggests an “energetic cord-cutting ceremony” as a healing step (49:32).

Call 3: Wild Family Gatherings (Kelly) (53:00)

Situation: Kelly is troubled by a sister-in-law’s lack of parenting at family gatherings, resulting in chaos.
Advice:

• Collective rules for all families/kids should be set ahead, rather than singling out problem parents.
  • “If everyone feels that way...you just make sure there's a list of things...Here are the list of behaviors that we're not willing to put up with.” – Chelsea Handler (57:37)
• Isla: Emphasizes the importance of sharing standards without shaming, and notes her own family’s relaxed, “village” approach to co-parenting (61:15).

6. Discussion of Isla Fisher’s New Films and Coming Full Circle

• Isla discusses her movie “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” and the joy of reuniting with the cast (“like camp”) and updating roles, as well as a cameo in “J. Kelly.”
• The episode wraps with mutual admiration, gratitude, and a plug for Chelsea’s tour dates.

Notable Quotes

• “As we know, the best about having opinions is they're flexible and open to new information. And so it's important to keep conversations going and not just get off on your own little tangent and think that you're right.” – Isla Fisher (18:22)
• “If you're not fixed in life ever. Just when you think you've got it now, you get fucking hit in the face.” – Chelsea Handler (15:24)
• “It's kind of fun to dissect something and overanalyze the situation and get everyone's perspectives... Instead of having like a flat reflection, which is what a lot of men do.” – Chelsea Handler (28:49)
• “Be flattered by the fact that she's engaging in sibling rivalry... She’s probably looking at you and like, 'oh, wow, you’re free.'” – Isla Fisher (48:25)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Chelsea’s tour and travel banter: 03:56–08:01
• Introducing Isla Fisher: 08:02–11:08
• Isla’s upbringing & family dysfunction: 13:10–15:08
• Discussion about social bubbles & disagreement: 17:12–18:51
• Memorable Wimbledon stories & canapés debate: 19:00–21:17
• Parenting philosophies: 22:25–24:31
• Social media anxieties: 25:32–26:34
• Female friendships & adulthood: 27:56–31:06
• Isla discusses her acting work: 31:28–32:53
• Advice call – Antisocial Mom: 39:00–40:24
• Advice call – Sibling rivalry/Nicole: 42:16–52:05
• Advice call – Family gatherings/Kelly: 53:00–61:12
• Farewell & film plugs: 66:24–67:08

Overall Tone & Style

The episode strikes a balance between heartfelt wisdom and irreverent humor. Chelsea’s direct, sometimes brash, tone is matched by Isla’s quick wit and thoughtful reflections. Both are open about the messiness of life, family, and relationships—always landing back on the importance of kindness, self-care, boundaries, and not taking oneself too seriously.

For fans and newcomers alike, this episode delivers laughs, relatability, solid advice, and a real sense of camaraderie among strong, insightful women.