Season 5 Spring Episodes Have Sprung!

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S5 EP222 | Global Intrigue Fuels Joe Battaglia's

Near-Future Olympic Suspense Thriller, Beneath the Rings

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Bleeped word: m@ss@cre

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This week on Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt — Book Talk Podcast, award-winning journalist Joe Battaglia joins the show to discuss his international thriller Beneath the Rings, a suspense-filled novel set during the 2040 Summer Olympics in Doha.

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With more than three decades in journalism and over twenty years covering the Olympic movement, Joe brings a rare insider perspective to the world of elite athletics, media pressure, and the global spectacle surrounding the Games. He worked with NBC Olympics, contributing to Emmy-winning coverage of the Beijing and London Summer Olympics. 

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Joe discusses his path from journalism into publishing, beginning with his self-published children’s book The ABCs of Track and Field, an educational alphabet book introducing young readers to the history, athletes, and excitement of track and field. He shares how the experience taught him the realities of the publishing industry and gave him the confidence to move forward with the thriller he had long wanted to write.

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In Beneath the Rings, veteran journalist Nova Mendelsohn is pulled into a terrifying international crisis when twelve athletes vanish during the Olympic Games. As governments, media officials, and powerful organizations scramble to control the narrative, Nova races through the shadows of Doha searching for the truth before time runs out.

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His thriller Beneath the Rings was recently awarded Gold in the 2026 Manhattan Book Awards.

If you enjoy political thrillers, international suspense, and Olympic drama, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

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