Blood, Sweat & Gears:
Racing Clean to the Tour de France
Recent doping scandals have cost the sport of cycling both sponsors and fans, but the Colorado-based Garmin-Slipstream team is trying to buck that trend with a rigorous anti-doping program. This documentary finds drama in the cyclists’ stories as it follows them through key competitions toward their ultimate goal: the grueling Tour de France. Monday, June 29, at 10:30 p.m., Sundance Channel
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NOVA scienceNOW
Jocular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson returns as host of this lively science magazine show. This week he dons a blindfold to visit a “farm” that manufactures artificial diamonds indistinguishable from natural ones, and tries his hand at singing with the aid of pitch-correction software. Also: a look at genetic “fingerprinting” that could trace the source of epidemics, and a profile of brilliant young computer scientist Luis von Ahn. Tuesday, June 30, at 9 p.m., PBS
Wide Angle: Crossing Heaven’s Border
The international-affairs series starts its eighth season with the affecting stories of several North Koreans who attempt to escape their country, braving long odds and risking torture and execution. Using hidden cameras, South Korean journalists follow their perilous paths across China and Laos, toward asylum in Thailand. Aaron Brown returns as anchor and interviewer. Wednesday, July 1, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
The Conscience of Nhem En
During the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in Cambodia, in the late 1970s, a teenage soldier named Nhem En photographed thousands of prisoners at Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh. This 2009 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Short interviews him and follows the stories of three of the eight people documented to have survived the prison, where some 17,000 died. Wednesday, July 8, at 8 p.m., HBO2
Masterpiece Mystery! Miss Marple, Series IV: ‘Murder Is Easy’
Julia McKenzie (Cranford) is the latest actress to play Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, subtly portraying the shrewdness beneath the spinster sleuth’s placid exterior as she investigates suspicious accidents in an English village. The supporting cast, including Jemma Redgrave and Benedict Cumberbatch, is well above even Masterpiece’s high standards. Sunday, July 12, at 9 p.m., PBS
Other highlights
American Masters:
Garrison Keillor, The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes
An affectionate profile of the man behind public radio’s long-running A Prairie Home Companion. Wednesday, July 1, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular
Neil Diamond will perform from the Charles River Esplanade in Boston; Craig Ferguson is host. Saturday, July 4, at 10 p.m., CBS
Great Performances at the Met:
La Sonnambula
Vincenzo Bellini’s opera about a sleepwalker unjustly accused of adultery gets a postmodern update. Saturday, July 11, at noon, PBS; check local listings
Unprepared for a pandemic
6 impressive homes in Toronto
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the world
