Certified Crucial

11/10/2025

You know it's a party when you have the honor of being photobombed by Ronald Young Jr. while taking a picture with Chioke I'Anson, PhD and Lynn Casper! Resonate was a BLAST! It's such a relief to have a festival that every year continues to refill my creative tank. We all need to be reminded sometimes why we got into this industry in the first place, and RESONATE certainly did that!

Thanks to all the podcasters who allowed us to feature you in the Podcast Trading Card Set, to everyone who came by our table to talk merch and owning your revenue streams, and to Chioke and everyone at for hosting my favorite podcast festival!

I have a lot of people to follow up with this week, but for now, I am taking Monday to stare at a wall and disassociate/recoup.

11/09/2025

11/08/2025

Congrats to for becoming the "keeper of the boombox!" Many thanks to for creating an unforgettable art piece that will be shared and enjoyed at RESONATE for years to come!

10/23/2025

Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for! Now presenting the RESONATE Podcast Festival tee!

We teamed up with the incredible Richmond artist Noah Scalin to design a working boombox representing this year's RESONATE theme; Pangea. Attendees of RESONATE will get a chance to see the boombox in person and take pictures with it, and everyone has a chance to take home a shirt with the boombox design!

This is what we mean at Certified Crucial when we say "merch as unique as your niche."

Some shirts will be available at RESONATE for purchase, but supplies will be limited. This is a one-off printing of this shirt design, so preorder by Nov 1st to ensure we have your size!

Get yours now! https://shop.certifiedcrucial.com/products/resonate-pangea-limited-edition-shirt

10/23/2025

Three more podcast legends join the RESONATE Trading Card deck.

Enter:
Chioke Ianson, PhD
Axel Kacoutié
James Kim

Designed by Geovanny Mejia.

Eighteen in all. Each card a reminder: sound shapes culture.

Pre-orders are open now.

NOTE:
Only those who pre-order will receive the exclusive Chioke card!

You won’t find it at Resonate.

>> shop.certifiedcrucial.com

10/21/2025

The story isn’t over.

merch, by .

Pre-order before it disappears from the Cosmos…

10/17/2025

The RESONATE Podcast Festival "pangea" preorder is here (ends Nov. 1st)! These are must-have collectibles whether you'll be at RESONATE or not!

https://shop.certifiedcrucial.com/collections/resonate-podcast-festival

We've teamed up with award-winning Richmond artist Noah Scalin to create an incredible design representing pangea and the world of audio, and we're putting it on a shirt! Get it now in the RESONATE store. The design will be unveiled Oct. 20th, but shirts are $3 off now until the unveiling on Monday.

We've also got the FIRST EVER trading card pack featuring various creators from across the podcasting community! All cards are designed and illustrated by Richmond, VA area artists.

18 cards per pack. Pre-orders come with one extra limited edition card featuring RESONATE's founder, Chioke Ianson, PhD!

Creators featured in the pack:

Vivian Le
Ronald Young Jr.
Julie Shapiro
The Reverend John DeLore
Nichole Hill
Ray Christian
James Kim
Sharon Mashihi
Anna Sale
Axel Kacoutié
Sayre Quevedo
Arielle Nissenblatt
Lauren Shippen
Davy Gardner
Kaitlin Prest
Jazmine Green
Kia Miakka Natisse
Yowei Shaw

10/10/2025

Me: And that's what we do at !

Them: So, you're like farm to table but for merch?

Me: No, that's not... we... um...

Them: ...

Me: ...Okay, yeah, that's pretty much it.

09/30/2025

International Podcast Day 2025.

Certified Crucial joined up with Arielle Nissenblatt (EarBuds Podcast Collective.)

You submitted the audio.

A shirt was born.

From English “um” and “uh” to Hindi “are vo” (अरे वो), filler words aren’t just pauses - they're the moments that make us human.

Your “um.” Now wearable in various colors.