Fresh Air, Philip Roth, Kevin Smith, And Ray Wise, September 25, 2007

Hear novelist Philip Roth, writer/director Kevin Smith, actor Ray Wise, and rock critic Ken Tucker, on this edition of Fresh Air.

Philip Roth's new novel Exit Ghost is his ninth and final Nathan Zuckerman book. He began the series in 1979 with The Ghost Writer. In all, Roth has written 28 novels. There's also a new Library of Congress compendium of the series: Zuckerman Bound. Roth has been the recipient of numerous awards, including The National Book Award (for Goodbye Columbus and Sabbath's Theatre); the Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral in 1997; the PEN/Faulkner Awards (for Operation Shylock and The Human Stain); and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' prestigious Gold Medal for Fiction.

Then, Kevin Smith and Ray Wise, who are working together on the new TV show Reaper on the CW network. (It premieres Tuesday, September 25.) The show is about a 21-year-old slacker, Sam, who discovers that when he was born his parents sold his soul to the devil. Now Sam must be the devil's bounty hunter and help return evil-doers to hell. Wise plays the devil. He has appeared on the TV shows Twin Peaks, 24, and in the films Good Night & Good Luck and Fire Walk With Me. Smith wrote and directed the films Chasing Amy, Clerks, and Silent Bob Strikes Back.

Finally, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews The Con, the new album by the Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin. Their music has been used in a number of American TV shows, including Grey's Anatomy, The L Word, and Medium. [Broadcast Date: September 25, 2007]