CNN’s Bill Weir Reports in “50 Years Of Apple,” for The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper
NEW EPISODE PREMIERES SATURDAY, APRIL 4 AT 10PM ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY – (March 30, 2026) – The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a six-time Emmy® Award-winning CNN Original, returns with an illuminating look inside a company that has helped reshape modern life. “50 Years of Apple” with CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir premieres Saturday, April 4 at 10pm ET/PT on CNN. The hour will stream in three parts on demand starting Wednesday, April 1 for subscribers of CNN’s streaming offering.
Fifty years after its founding in a California garage, Apple has grown into one of the most influential, profitable, and iconic companies in history, with more than 2.5 billion users worldwide. Weir takes viewers inside Apple’s past and present, from the breakthrough launch of the Macintosh to the cultural dominance of the iPod and iPhone, and the company’s transition from the Steve Jobs era to the leadership of Tim Cook. Through interviews with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former iPod division SVP Tony Fadell, and veteran tech journalists Kara Swisher, David Pogue, and Walt Mossberg, the episode offers a comprehensive look at the visionaries, decisions, and turning points that defined the company.
“When my college newspaper got a Macintosh in the 80’s, I had no idea I’d eventually cover the launch of the iPhone, become the first reporter to see their products being made in China and see Apple screens come to dominate my family’s waking hours. So this golden anniversary seems a fitting time to reflect both on what Apple has given the world AND the unintended consequences,” said Weir.
Beyond the products themselves, “50 Years of Apple” examines the company’s broader impact on culture and society, from how we document our lives to the role smartphones play in civic movements and revolutions around the world. The episode also examines what may come next, as a real-time backlash against screen dependency gains momentum and a new wave of technologies begins to shape the future.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper is a collection of unique and immersive single subject, one-hour episodes from CNN’s award-winning longform storytelling team showcasing character-driven stories, special interviews, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN’s anchors and correspondents. The series, which has been honored with two consecutive Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Recorded News Program, is executive produced by Susan Chun. Weir has previously reported for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper on the live music industry’s impact on the climate crisis, how human life is adapting with our changing climate, and he followed the humpback whale migratory journey from Antarctica to Colombia.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Saturday, April 5. The hour will also be available on demand beginning Wednesday, April 1 to CNN’s streaming subscribers and 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 for CNN’s streaming subscribers and 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.
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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, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 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; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and 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; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; 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; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
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Press Contacts
The Whole Story Press Contact
Bill Weir Press Contact