CNN’s Bill Weir Reports In “Change Amplified: Live Music and the Climate Crisis” for The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper Featuring Billie Eilish, Bonnie Raitt, Jack Johnson, AJR’s Adam Met and Perry Farrell
EPISODE PREMIERES SUNDAY, JULY 20 AT 8PM ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY – (July 15, 2025) – The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a six-time Emmy® Award-winning CNN Original, returns with a look at some of the biggest stars working to revolutionize the eco footprint of live music. “Change Amplified: Live Music and the Climate Crisis” with CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir premieres Sunday, July 20 at 8pm ET/PT on CNN.
Featuring Billie Eilish and her mother Maggie Baird, Bonnie Raitt, Jack Johnson, AJR’s Adam Met and Perry Farrell formerly of Jane’s Addiction, Weir traces the legacy of stars who are working to reform a live music industry that demands massive amounts of energy and produces tons of waste. From refillable water stations, plastic-free shows and even kinetic dance floors that turn the crowd’s energy into electricity, eco-conscious musicians are leading a movement to make caring about the climate cool. Their influence is catching on, with Lollapalooza now operating its main stage with a battery-powered hybrid system that gets cleaner every year, and Coachella implementing their first zero carbon stage.
“As so many politicians and corporate leaders slink away from leadership on climate issues while the cultural influence of live music explodes, I set out to understand how a handful of devoted artists have managed to clean and green their industry in astounding ways,” Weir said. “A music festival is like a temporary, disposable city so the lessons learned can be applied across society, and the connections being made with fellow fans have sparked a surprising new wave of grass roots connection and action.”
Weir speaks with Billie Eilish behind-the-scenes during her stadium tour where she implements several eco-friendly initiatives, and meets up with her and Maggie Baird in the hills of Los Angeles where nonprofit Tree People plants shade in underserved communities and after wildfires. He also visits with Jack Johnson on his Kokua Learning Farm in Hawaii, created to connect kids with nature and fresh, healthy food.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper is a collection of unique and immersive single subject, one-hour episodes from CNN’s Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning longform storytelling team showcasing character-driven stories, special interviews, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN’s anchors and correspondents. It is the Emmy® Award winner for Best Recorded News Program two years running, and is executive produced by Susan Chun. Weir previously reported from around the world for The Whole Story in “Adaptation Nation,” “What Whales Tell Us,” and the Emmy® nominated “How to Unscrew a Planet.”
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, July 20. “Change Amplified: Live Music and the Climate Crisis” will also be available on demand beginning Monday, July 21 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms. Past episodes of The Whole Story are available to stream on demand now on HBO Max.
The Whole Story is also available as a CNN Podcasts showcast. Visit CNN.com/audio or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
###
About CNN Originals
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN Flashdocs, and CNN Studios. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 60 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid directed by Matt Tyrnauer; Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; the Emmy® Award winning Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; Luther Vandross: Never Too Much, directed by Dawn Porter; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; This is Life with Lisa Ling; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; the American version of the long-running UK comedy series, Have I Got News For You, hosted by Roy Wood Jr; and the six-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, the CNN Originals FAST channel, and for pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
About Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, HBO Max, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
Press Contacts
The Whole Story Press Contact
Bill Weir Press Contact