Sarah Schulman, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, nonfiction writer, and AIDS historian is the Ralla Klepak Professor of English at Northwestern University.

She was a member of ACT UP, New York from 1987 to 1992, and a co-founder of the Lesbian Avengers. Today she serves on the Advisory Board of Jewish Voice for Peace, and is co-director of The ACT UP Oral History Project ( https://www.actuporalhistory.org/).

She is the author of 21 books, including Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP, New York 1987-1993; Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility and the Duty of Repair; and The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness To A Lost Imagination.

Her latest book is THE FANTASY AND NECESSITY OF SOLIDARITY, published by Thesis.

We spoke with her on September 4, 2025.

This edition ends with excerpts from the text of a talk given by Bernice Johnson Reagon at the 1981 West Coast Women’s Music Festival in Yosemite, titled: COALITION POLITICS: TURNING THE CENTURY. https://www.rootsofjusticetraining.org/uploads/1/3/9/1/139148852/coalition-politics.pdf

The Zionist consensus among US Jews has collapsed. Something new is emerging https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2025/oct/07/american-jews-zionism

President of Northwestern, a School Attacked by the G.O.P., Will Resign https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/us/northwestern-president-resigns.html?searchResultPosition=1

President of Northwestern University quits amid layoffs forced by Trump cuts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/04/northwestern-university-president-resigns-trump-cuts

‘Censorship’: over 115 scholars condemn cancellation of Harvard journal issue on Palestine https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/aug/14/harvard-journal-israel-gaza-cancellation

The chilling effect of Title VI investigations: the professors accused of antisemitism https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/campus-investigations-professors-gaza-antisemitism

UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era’ move https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/12/uc-berkeley-trump-administration-antisemitism

US imposes sanctions on Palestinians for requesting war crimes inquiry https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/04/us-sanctions-palestinian-human-rights

US reportedly suspends visa approvals for nearly all Palestinian passport holders https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/31/palestine-passport-visa-approval-suspension

Ursula von der Leyen calls for suspension of EU trade with Israel https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/10/ursula-von-der-leyen-suspension-eu-trade-israel

From Washington to Westminster, the populist right needs to erase history to succeed. It’s up to us to resist https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/09/washington-westminster-populist-right-smithsonian-nigel-farage

Leaked ‘Gaza Riviera’ plan dismissed as ‘insane’ attempt to cover ethnic cleansing https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/01/leaked-gaza-riviera-plan-dismissed-as-insane-attempt-to-cover-ethnic-cleansing

Palestinians warned of a genocide in 2023. Why weren’t we believed? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/30/israel-gaza-palestine-genocide

Democrats Wrote Off Anti-War Activists In 2024. Now Concern For Gaza Is Unavoidable. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-failure-gaza-big-lesson_n_68acd3a5e4b0495eade021bf

Norway wealth fund sells Caterpillar stake over Israel allegations https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/26/norway-wealth-fund-excludes-caterpillar-over-israel-allegations

From the streets of Baghdad, I saw a clear line to the bloodshed in Gaza https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/26/gaza-iraq-baghdad-west-war-crimes

Trump unlawfully cancelled $2.2bn in Harvard research grants, judge rules https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/03/trump-administration-harvard-funding-cut