Etgar 36

08/17/2025

Brand new episode of "Let Me Ask You Something" now available on YouTube. It was important to spend a few episodes establishing the core philosophy of the channel before jumping into interviews.
This episode features an ELI talk I delivered a few years ago (notice the darker hair!). In it, I discuss why having conversations with people who see the world differently—whether they look, think, pray, love, or vote differently than we do—is essential. Learning to listen with empathy and respect, even when we disagree, helps break down barriers, build bridges, and find common ground.
If you’re interested in understanding others, overcoming division, and forming real human connections across differences, this talk is for you.
Please leave a comment after watching, and thanks for checking it out!

This is an ELI talk I gave about how I came to understand the importance of speaking to people who don't look, think, pray, love, or vote like me, and even t...

08/11/2025

Are you ready to be part of something truly transformative and help move America forward? I am excited to share a project I have been working on that takes Etgar 36 to the next level —one that invites you to step out of your comfort zone, spark genuine conversations, and help bridge the divides that hold us back.
In a world where it’s all too easy to tune out, shut down, or stay within our echo chambers, we have the power to do something bold: talk to each other. Imagine the impact of reaching across lines of difference—connecting with people who don’t look, think, worship, love, and in 2025 America, vote like you. This courage to engage is more important than ever. Let’s embrace becoming comfortable being uncomfortable and having difficult conversations as a necessary step toward understanding, empathy, and real change.
Drawing from over two decades of teaching and activism through Etgar 36’s Summer and Civil Rights journeys, I am excited to extend these lessons to a broader audience. To do this, I’ve launched a YouTube channel and page called “Let Me Ask You Something with Billy Planer.” I am thrilled to invite you to join this vibrant community focused on activism and meaningful dialogue.
Each week, a new episode will feature authentic conversations with inspiring individuals who are challenging the status quo and building bridges in their communities. These stories are not just uplifting and inspiring—they serve as a call to action. You will gain practical lessons, effective tools, and actionable strategies to help you find your voice, connect across differences, and shape your path as an activist—whether by joining a march or simply having a thoughtful conversation with someone in a coffee shop or online.
Don’t just be a bystander—be a catalyst for positive change! Join a community that encourages daring growth through open discussions and welcomes the discomfort that leads to true transformation. Here, disagreement isn’t disrespectful—only how we disagree can be. This space is committed to honest, civil conversations where everyone is given the grace, mercy, and support to speak freely, without fear of being canceled, dismissed, or silenced. It’s in these open, respectful spaces that true learning and deep connections are born.

Subscribe, like, and share the YouTube channel and page.
• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/
• page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578407237229
Every click and comment grow our community, amplifies our message, and opens the door to richer, braver, and more hopeful conversations. Come join us and let’s change the world, one conversation at a time!
https://youtu.be/d0DbipwJI3E?si=wCe_hrT4_I1dZQUD

Ready to change the world? Let's create change one difficult conversation at a time. This intro episode of "Let Me Ask You Something" will explain how this c...

11/22/2022

Etgar 36 is starting to hire staff for what is posssibly our final summer journey.

- Must be at least a junior in college and have experience working with teens at summer camp or in school.
Interested? Please email Josh Dubin - [email protected] and let him know why you are interested in staffing and include a resume.

07/31/2022

If you have ever wanted to be in an Etgar 36 meeting/discussion....

10/09/2020

After speaking with public health experts, it is with cautious optimism that I am so excited to announce:
THE 2021 ETGAR 36 SUMMER JOURNEY IS ON!
Of course, it is subject to the advances (and setbacks) as we move through this virus.
NO RISK REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! https://www.etgar.org/summer-journey/overview/
We will give full refunds if we cancel the trip due to the virus.
We have 10 spaces remaining for the summer 2021. Once those fill, we will be starting a waiting list for a possible second bus! Apply now to guarantee your seat!
We based our decision to move forward on:
- our understanding that multiple vaccines with high effective rates are going to be introduced and available starting early 2021
- every teen and staff member will have to take the vaccine that is the most effective for their age and life situation.
- we will continue to use masks when in populated, enclosed spaces such as museums, etc.
- we will tweak our programming to minimize our time in small, enclosed public areas.
- clean and sanitize the bus following health official guidelines.
- adjust according to changing news, information, and precautions.
I know we can all use some hope looking forward, so I felt it was time to make an initial decision on the 2021 summer because as the Grateful Dead sang, "one way or another, this darkness got to give." It seemed reasonable to move forward with the information that has been provided to me.
For those that follow the Etgar 36 summer trip, I hope the images of a summer journeying across America provide some light at the end of this tunnel. As Jack Kerouac wrote, "because there was nowhere to go, but everywhere, our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again. We had longer ways to go. Keep rolling under the stars. The road is life."
Have a great weekend!

09/11/2020

18 years ago, I commemorated the one-year anniversary of 9/11 by incorporating Etgar 36 as a nonprofit business. I had an idea of a program that encouraged talking to people with whom you disagree and engaging in uncomfortable conversations to find some connection and understanding even if you don't agree.
In Judaism, we place numeric value to Hebrew letters. The letters that form the Hebrew word "chai" which means life is 18. And like many times in life, Etgar 36 has been knocked over by things we didn't see coming. A year ago, it seemed that America had caught up to the program's intention, and our mission could not be more important. We had more Civil Rights trips on our schedule than ever before, a full-page article about us in the New York Times, and the 2020 summer trip was already close to selling out. And then, life happened. On March 8th, we finished that weekend's Civil Rights journey and have not been back on the bus since due to COVID19.
As we begin our 18th/Chai year, it looks like we will not be running any trips until the late June when, hopefully, we begin the 2021 summer program. It would be easy to be frustrated about being forced off the road and not fulfilling our potential just as we were hitting our stride. But, as the Grateful Dead sing, "sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right." I can change how I look at our situation and find joy and purpose in this new and unanticipated space. I realize that perhaps right now is the time we need to pull off the main road and spend some time on the back roads and off the bus to take stock of where we've been in the past 17 years and let it catch up with us.
How do we determine success during our shut down? It has been found in the daily conversations with alumni of the summer and civil rights trips about race, equality, connection, and having uncomfortable conversations. I have been given the gift of connecting with the Etgar 36 community in more profound and more personal ways. It has been so wonderful hearing about how the lessons learned on our journeys have played out in in people's lives over the past months and years since they have been on the bus.
Our 18th year will breathe new life into Etgar 36 and that will only make the journeys we take once we can get back on the bus all the more meaningful, valuable, and powerful.

08/26/2020

Please support Etgar 36 by signing up for MINDTRIPS lecture series.
Next episode is Sunday 7 PM on Systemic Racism.
You can watch a recording for 5 days after.
www.etgar.org

08/09/2020

Hear the story of Daryl Davis on MINDTRIPS
Watch it live tonight at 7 PM(EST) or watch the recording for the next 5 days.
Register at www.etgar.org
Here is a clip of his story: https://youtu.be/waVrJEIfahc

✪ Daryl Davis was determined to understand why he was hated for the color of his skin. His pursuit for answers brought him face to face with the leader of th...

08/07/2020

MINDTRIPS...starts Sunday night (but you can watch for 5 days)
Find out what happens when a Black man starts talking with members of the K*K
To sign up & more info: www.etgar.org/mindtrips

08/02/2020

Next Sunday join me for the kick-off program of the online MINDTRIPS series!
Find out about the power of a conversation.
For teens, adults, alumni, and friends of Etgar 36.
WWW.ETGAR.ORG to register.
You can watch for 72 hours after the live broadcast.

07/29/2020

MINDTRIPS...the next journey for Etgar 36.
A monthly online live-streamed lecture/discussion series curated by Etgar 36 with activists and thought leaders that help us figure out a path to creating a more perfect union.
Please join us for one or all of the 2020 programs.
* Ruth Messinger * Born This Way Foundation
* Daryl Davis *Evan Wolfson * Joanne Bland
* Fair Fight 2020 *Terra Gay
Each program is $15 or you can buy all 6 for $75.

07/28/2020