Terry Gross

Michael Chiklis stars as rogue detective Vic Mackey in the TV series The Shield; the Peabody Award-winning show is in its sixth season on the FX cable channel.

Previously, Chiklis starred in The Commish; over the years, he's also made guest appearances on Seinfeld, L.A. Law, Miami Vice, and Wiseguy.

Bobby Braddock is the award-winning country songwriter behind tunes including "He Stopped Loving Her today," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and "Did You Ever."

Now he's tackled a different kind of writing: His memoir, Down in Orburndale: A Songwriter's Youth in Old Florida, is out now from Louisiana State University Press.

Melinda Merck literally wrote the book on investigating animal cruelty — a crime that's increasingly understood to be linked to domestic violence. Merck is co-author of Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty: A Guide for Veterinarians and Law Enforcement, and in June she will publish a textbook, Veterinary Forensics: Animal Cruelty Investigations. (A warning: Parts of this interview are disturbing).