Today it’s a holiday, time to celebrate, with a very special episode of Totally ‘80s ! This one is all about the undisputed Queen of the ‘80s, the Queen of Pop, the Queen of all media, and the Queen of my world, her Royal Magesty, Madonna Louise Ciccone — but specifically focusing on her long-forgotten and often-overlooked punk origins.

Joining me for this discussion is the legendary Susan Seidelman, director of the punk-rock cult classic Smithereens and author of the excellent new autobiography Desperately Seeking Something. But of course, Seidelman was also there to witness — and in some ways, facilitate — the rise of early Madonna, when she directed Desperately Seeking Susan.

Also joining me is Laura Jane Grace, frontwoman of the iconic punk band Against Me! and new supergroup Laura Jane Grace & the Mississippi Medicals, who also just happens to be one of the coolest and most knowledgeable Madonna fans around.

You can hear audio of this fascinating discussion below in full (or wherever you get your podcasts). The televised version, in which you can see all my Desperately Seeking Susan costume props in their full glory, can be viewed in the YouTube player above and is also airing on WMX Pop and Rock (Roku Channel 1154, Vizio Channel 1240, or on Xumo Play).