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MEADVILLE, Pa. – Jan. 23, 2009 – Pinnacle City: large, sprawling, choked with pollution, and, with the war ending, stock in Pinnacle Arms is plummeting. Leon Westcott and the rest of the firm’s executives must come up with a plan to get out of the red.

So goes the plot of “The Fall of Leon Westcott,” episode one of “Trigger Ethics,” a new seven-part radio drama about betrayal, revenge and religious rebellion. The series — written, acted, recorded and directed by a team of 27 Allegheny College students — will begin to unfold in a debut party at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2, in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts at the college. Professor of Psychology Joshua Searle-White produced the made-for-radio series.

Following a program of student-led presentations and discussion at the Vukovich Center, guests are invited to listen in the Campus Center lobby as WARC, 90.3 FM, Allegheny’s student-run radio station, broadcasts “The Fall of Leon Westcott.” Refreshments will be served. The remaining episodes will be broadcast Mondays at 9 p.m. from Feb. 9 through March 16.

“This series takes the spirit of the old Westerns and transplants it into a future characterized by global environmental disaster and rampant corporate ownership of everything from the police to religion,” said Searle-White.

“There is a hero betrayed by his friends, a gunslinger priest, an assassin who loves opera, and church services with commercials sponsored by arms companies. What could be more fun? Even though the setting is dark at times, the ultimate message of the series is a hopeful one, and the combination of action, adventure and humor will keep listeners glued to their radios – or iPods, or computers, or however else they hear the show. The Golden Age of Radio meets the technology of the new century!”

In addition to teaching psychology at the college, Searle-White offers a storytelling course that several of the students involved in “Trigger Ethics” took. “For me, one of the best things about being involved in the show is the energy and creativity of the 27 Allegheny College students who put this project together,” he said. “They came up with something totally new and are now offering it, free of charge, to the world.”

For more information about “Trigger Ethics,” visit triggerethics.allegheny.edu. An interview with the writers is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izhx5oNxlU4.