Creativity, purpose and curiosity take center stage on this episode of Late Night Health as host Mark Alyn welcomes novelist and screenwriter Peter Berk. Their conversation explores writing, family legacy, artificial intelligence and why meaningful work has no expiration date.
Peter grew up immersed in storytelling. His father, Howard Berk, wrote episodes of television classics including Columbo, Mission: Impossible and The Rockford Files. As an only child, Peter sat beside his father, absorbing lessons about character, suspense and dialogue. He even visited the original Star Trek set.
Although Peter first dreamed of becoming a film composer and later spent decades in public relations, he never abandoned writing. During the COVID shutdown, he transformed screenplays written with his father into novels. That decision launched the TimeLock series and allowed Peter to honor his father’s work. Peter did not publish his first novel until he was collecting Social Security, proving that creative achievement can begin at any age.
Mark and Peter also examine the opportunities and anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence. Mark uses AI to organize ideas and assist with editing, while Peter employs it primarily for research. Both agree that technology can be valuable, but Peter wants the words carrying his name—and his father’s—to remain genuinely his own.
Peter’s newest novel, FireLine, is an eco-disaster thriller about a scientific experiment intended to purify waterways that instead creates a potentially world-ending firestorm. His next project, Merrill Lake Falls, moves in a different direction with a small-town Canadian setting, a science-fiction element and his first female lead.
Warm, funny and personal, the conversation shows how storytelling keeps memories alive, connects generations and provides a continuing sense of purpose. Peter’s journey demonstrates that growing older need not mean stepping away from ambition. Sometimes it means finally writing the chapter you were always meant to begin.
Listen to Peter and Mark here:
