Story Summary

It is the Fall of 1999, and on the campus of Penderton College, just outside of Boston, students affiliated with the college radio station, WPOP, discover that plans are afoot for the creation of a huge theme park in the neighborhood.  Developer Gil Fishman  has come to town to pitch his idea for a virtual reality theme park called “The Universe,” whose futuristic technology will allow visitors to be rocketed off into deep space at the speed of light – or at least seem to be.  The trouble is that Fishman’s theme park is proposed to be built in several hundred acres of protected woodlands called The Penderton Reservation, the very woodlands that once teemed with the furry creature that would eventually become the school’s mascot – the giant long-haired barrel weasel.

Determined to halt the sale of the woods, the students of WPOP, led by general manager David Dolby, decide to do some investigative reporting on other theme parks owned by Fishman, beginning with Natureland in the neighboring state of Rhode Island.  After all, an anonymous donor gave the station $4,000 to do exactly that sort of thing.  But the plan hits a snag when Dolby and his cohorts crash a rented minivan, which has no insurance, thereby plunging themselves much more deeply into debt than a mere $4,000 can remedy.  And to make matters worse, the Penderton College Dean of Special Programs, Gene Bean, a direct descendant of the school’s founding father, Elias Bean, informs David Dolby that WPOP will lose its studio in a matter of weeks to make way for an expanded television studio for their archrivals at the campus television station, WPUK-TV.

With no money and the station’s future in doubt, how can WPOP send a reporter around the world to report on seamy underbelly of Fishman’s many theme parks?  They can’t, of course, but that doesn’t mean the public has to be aware of that.  After all, with a production studio at their fingertips, creating news reports that make it sound like their reporter is traveling the world, even if he’s not, wouldn’t be so hard at all.  With a sound effects library and a little creative editing, freshman reporter Larry Angelo can be placed in just about any location in the world.

Soon, though, some students at WPUK TV begin to suspect that something is amiss.  Led by Chet Quincy, host of the brutal television program “Goat of the Day”, these students seek to expose Larry’s whereabouts and prove that WPOP has been manipulating information.

Will WPOP stop the destruction of the Penderton Reservation?
Will WPUK expand its television studio into the space currently occupied by the radio station?
What the heck is a giant long-haired barrel weasel, anyway?
Listen, and you will find out!

Clips from the Audio Play

(All These Clips play in a Flash® Player)

At a community meeting, Gil Fishman pitches his theme park proposal to residents of Penderton.


Michael Grimace interrupts Gil Fishman's game of indoor golf to give him a bit of bad news.


Chet Quincy devises a scheme to bring down WPOP involving the coffee machine that is to be installed in their building.


David Dolby gets some surprising news from Dean Gene Bean and Michael Grimace about the status of WPOP Radio's studio.


Chet Quincy and his confederates, Zithead and Pinhead, get shaken down for information from one very tough broad named Roxanne.