Weekly TV Picks

All times Eastern

SUNDAY, FEB. 3

Franciscan University Presents

EWTN, 7 p.m.

This show's lively roundtable discussions, filmed on the Franciscan University campus in Steubenville, Ohio, offer sound Catholic intellectual perspective on many topics. To be rebroadcast Thursday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 8, at 3 a.m. and 10 p.m.

WEEKNIGHTS

Alan Keyes Is Making Sense

MSNBC, 10 p.m.

Catholic pro-lifer Alan Keyes, a former Reagan-administration official and twice a presidential candidate, analyzes current affairs in this new hour-long talk show. The program is broadcast live, so the 10 p.m. Eastern starting time means 7 p.m. Pacific Time.

MONDAY, FEB. 4

The Mummy Road Show

National Geographic, 9:30 p.m.

This episode, “Incas Unwrapped,” visits the ancient buried city of Tucume in northern Peru to investigate mummies that might be a tribal chief and more than 20 attendants.

TUESDAY, FEB. 5

NOVA: Secrets, Lies and Atomic Spies

PBS, 8 p.m.

Turns out there were hundreds of Soviet agents inside the U.S. government in the 1940s and '50s— more than even security-conscious Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisc.) knew. Declassified Communist and U.S. documents prove that spies funneled atomic, military, diplomatic and industrial secrets to the U.S.S.R. from senior positions in FDR's White House, the Office of Strategic Services, the Manhattan Project, the State Dept, etc. Some of the best evidence is in the Venona files, which the National Security Agency released in 1995 to show how U.S. counterintelligence broke “unbreakable” Soviet code and read thousands of telegraphic messages that Soviet agents were sending to Moscow.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 6

Expedition Journal

National Geographic, 6 p.m.

Tonight's show, “Above the Clouds,” follows around-the-world expeditions of balloonists Colin Prescott and Bertrand Picard, in separate segments.

THURSDAY, FEB. 7

The Woman Clothed with the Sun

EWTN, 3 a.m. and 10 p.m.

June Keithley Castro discusses the miracle of Lourdes, France and its attraction to the sick, handicapped and despairing.

FRIDAY, FEB. 8

2002 Winter Olympic Games: Opening Ceremony

NBC, 8 p.m.

Bob Costas and Katie Couric, joined by Jim McKay, anchor this event from Salt Lake City. NBC, promising fewer features and more news, will provide 168 hours of coverage (110.5 original), tonight through Feb. 24. Its cable outlets, CNBC and MSNBC, will have another 207 hours (131 original).

SATURDAY, FEB. 9

Lourdes

EWTN, 8 p.m.

This “EWTN Global Showcase” offering examines the rich theology behind Mary apparitions at Lourdes.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis