June 10, 2026 — Connection as Resistance
Eddie Burns is a film and video producer and Substack writer behind Stories That Matter.
He and TeriLeigh met through Creator Retreat in 2025, where he developed his publication from its original name, Think on This, into a home for hidden human interest stories and leadership lessons. Twenty-nine people joined today’s live conversation.
How This Friendship Started (And Why Goat Videos Matter)
When the ICE surge hit Minnesota in January, TeriLeigh posted on Substack that her neighborhood wasn’t okay and that she needed people to check on their Minnesota people. Eddie, joining from Texas, did exactly that. He started texting her daily, and then the goat videos started arriving.
TeriLeigh says those videos were the one thing that made her smile when her neighborhood felt like a war zone
Eddie reflected that he’d learned years ago how to show up for people — checking in, not overwhelming, just being a steady presence
That simple, consistent care deepened into a real partnership: Eddie is now TeriLeigh’s AV collaborator, helping translate her written stories of Minnesota women into video format for YouTube
The through-line of the whole conversation: the tiniest things are the biggest connectors.
The Mycelial Network of Mutual Support
TeriLeigh described what she and the women she writes about have come to understand about mutual support — that when you reach out to help someone else, you often receive the very thing you needed without knowing you needed it.
She and Eddie talked about the “infinity symbol” of mutual holding — two people in different kinds of pain, supporting each other, and watching the healing compound
Eddie introduced the concept of seva (selfless service) from his years volunteering with a spiritual teacher’s touring organization, where he and his wife served the volunteers themselves
TeriLeigh connected seva to the mycelial network metaphor: the underground web where big trees feed baby trees, and energy moves intuitively to where it’s needed most
The science backs it up, too. TeriLeigh referenced the work of Haven Watch, which has documented that detainees received with community support within five to ten minutes of leaving Whipple Detention Center experience dramatically less trauma than those who walk out alone.
Stories of What’s Happening on the Ground in Minnesota
TeriLeigh shared several stories from the book she’s writing about women and quiet acts of fierce love since the surge began in December:
The mobile home park neighborhood watch: Neighbors near a Latino mobile home park organized through Signal Chat, going by handles like “Sad Fat” and “Mud Raker,” standing watch in reflective vests through bitter cold — and still doing it. Every Friday they bring day-old bread from a nearby bakery and share it together. A week ago, 100 of them had a picnic and finally learned each other’s real names.
A family’s self-deportation: A mixed-status family on that same street, facing impossible uncertainty, packed a van and drove to Mexico. When neighbors found out a “we buy ugly houses” company was going to take three months to clear the home, the whole street mobilized — cleaning out the house, holding garage sales, and selling things on Marketplace. They had it done in two weeks and sent the money to the family.
First aid kits in backpacks: After ICE showed up at a school during dismissal and tear-gassed high schoolers, one woman began making and distributing first aid packs for students to carry in their backpacks. When she saw that protesters at Delaney Hall in New Jersey didn’t have basic supplies, she packed five oversized suitcases, flew out, and set up a proper medic station.
Texas, Political Shifts, and James Talarico
Eddie brought in the Texas perspective. He’s been watching James Talarico, a young Texas state legislator running for Senate who is drawing attention across party lines. A Christian who attends seminary and was formerly a teacher, Talarico pushed back publicly against Christian nationalism and the Ten Commandments classroom mandate — and memorably caught the bill’s sponsor on the floor by asking whether they were aware they were passing the law on the Sabbath.
Eddie sees Talarico as a voice that could reach moderate Christians who feel the Greg Abbott version of conservatism has gone too far
Both Eddie and TeriLeigh reflected on how their perception of Texas had shifted — TeriLeigh noted that during the January surge, some of the loudest responses and support she received came from blue dots inside the red state of Texas
TeriLeigh also named Minnesota’s current reality: it’s more purple than people realize, with a 50-50 state legislature and deep rural-urban division
The Closing Thread
Both Eddie and TeriLeigh circled back to the conversation’s central question: what do we do with the instinct to connect?
Trust it. When someone comes to mind, text them. You don’t know what they might be carrying.
Find the thing that comes naturally to you — whether it’s first aid kits, goat videos, mutual aid organizing, or telling stories — and do that thing.
Eddie summed it up: “The tiniest little things are the biggest connectors.”
TeriLeigh closed by pointing to their own friendship as evidence: goat videos during a surge became a collaboration connecting Texas with Minnesota, and 29 people listening on a Tuesday morning.
Find Eddie’s library of interviews and hidden human interest stories at Stories That Matter on Substack. TeriLeigh posts stories from Minnesota women every Tuesday at fiercelovemn.com*. Video versions are coming soon to YouTube.*
