"DATELINE'S" SARA JAMES INTERVIEWS CONTROVERSIAL AUTHOR MICHAEL BAIGENT TO DISCUSS HIS NEW BOOK, "THE JESUS PAPERS" -- SUNDAY, APRIL 2

NEW YORK -- March 29, 2006 -- In a multi-part report, airing on Sunday, April 2 (7:00 PM/ET), "Dateline's" Sara James interviews controversial author Michael Baigent about his new book, "The Jesus Papers." Previously, Baigent has captured readers' imaginations with his provocative non-fiction work "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," in which he claimed Jesus was married. Now, while in the middle of a highly-publicized lawsuit with the publishers of "The Da Vinci Code" for copyright infringement, Baigent has an even more controversial premise that challenges much of what we know about Jesus: What if Jesus survived the crucifixion? It's a theory that could rewrite two thousand years of Gospel, and he says ancient documents prove it.

In the "Dateline" report, James talks with scholars and experts who question the validity to his claims since no evidence has been made public to support them. In an attempt to answer his controversial questions, the broadcast travels from England to France, Israel to Italy, following Baigent's footsteps into the world of antiquities, where the trade of artifacts is often illegal because many of these artifacts are stolen or cultural property.

David Corvo is the executive producer of "Dateline NBC."