WBAI-NYC Upcoming Program

WBAI-FM Upcoming Program

City Watch

Thu, Sep 17, 2026 5:00 PM

JOURNALIST CRISTIAN FARIS ON "WHAT WE OWE NOLAN WELLS"

On Thursday, September 17, at 5:00 PM ET, WBAI 99.5 FM NY City Watch host Jeff Simmons discusses the unresolved death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black teenager who didn't return from a Fourth of July boating trip with friends on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. His body was later found on Horn Island, and his family continues to seek a clear account of what happened.

Jeff talks with legal journalist Cristian Farias, author of the deeply reported New York magazine article, "What We Owe Nolan Wells." They discuss the questions surrounding the investigation, the family's search for answers, the decline in sustained mainstream media coverage, and the independent Black journalists who have kept Nolan's case in public view.

In the second half of the program, listeners are invited to join the conversation: What does the media owe a family in a case like this? How can the public demand answers without turning speculation into fact? And what would meaningful transparency look like when the investigation concludes?

Listen Thursday, September 17, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM on WBAI 99.5 FM New York or stream live at WBAI.org. Call 212-209-2877 during the program to share your thoughts.

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