SUNDAY, July 1, 7pm
Supercarrier: USS Ronald Reagan
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL This 2007 documentary follows the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on her maiden deployment in 2006 and on another deployment in 2007.

VARIOUS, July 1-6
Fortnight for Freedom
EWTN The U.S. bishops call their June 21-July 4 Fortnight for Freedom a “special period of prayer, study, catechesis and public action [to] emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty.” EWTN programs include EWTN Bookmark with Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia at 9:30am and 11:30pm July 1; St. Thomas More: Faithful Statesman at 6am July 2; episodes of Father Charles Connor’s The History of the Catholic Church in the U.S. at 6:30pm Monday-Thursday, July 2-July 5; Women of Grace specials about threats to religious liberty at 11am and 11:30pm July 2-6; the Fortnight Closing Mass in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, with Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington as chief celebrant and Archbishop Chaput as homilist, live at 12:10pm July 4; and a special The World Over at 1:30pm July 4.

WEDNESDAY, July 4, 8pm, live
A Capitol Fourth
PBS This concert at the U.S. Capitol will feature military bands and ceremonial units, the National Symphony Orchestra, pop singers, tributes to the 2012 U.S. Olympic team and entertainer Gene Kelly (1912-1996). The traditional Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with live cannon fire and fireworks will conclude the festivities. Re-airs at 9:30pm.

WEDNESDAY, July 4, 10pm, live
Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular
CBS This concert on Boston’s Charles River Esplanade features entertainers Jennifer Hudson and Michael Chiklis and a 20-minute fireworks finale.

SATURDAY, July 7, 2pm
Road of Hope: The Spiritual Journey of Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan
EWTN Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan (1928-2002) of Saigon said of his 13 years in Vietnamese communist prisons, nine in solitary, “Every day with three drops of wine and one drop of water in my hand, I celebrated my Mass [in secret].”

SUNDAY, July 8, 10pm
EWTN Theology Roundtable
EWTN In “Life Issues: From Conception to Natural Death,” EWTN’s vice president for theology, Colin Donovan, and his staff explain Catholic teaching about abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and just war. Re-airs at 1pm Tuesday and 5am Thursday.

MONDAY-TUESDAY, July 9-10, live
Major League Baseball All-Star Events
ESPN, ESPN DEPORTES, FOX SPORTS At 8pm Monday on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (in Spanish), Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., hosts the Home Run Derby, where it’s American League vs. National League sluggers. At 7:30pm Tuesday on Fox Sports is the 83rd All-Star Game.
 

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.