Published at the end of the 1920s, All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Maria Remarque tells the story of a young man named Paul who enlists in the German army in the first world war.

It’s newest translator spoke with Midcoast Morning about what the book has to say in 2024.

Plus, in close to 25 years, the Canadian Letters and Images Project has digitized around 35,000 letters from Canadians at war. Project director Stephen Davies speaks about what stands out.

A pair of cemetery related items were on the council agenda this week in Nanaimo. When Kevin Hills wrote a term paper on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as part of a military history course, he learned that war graves in Nanaimo had been laid flat in the 1960s in a move to make maintenance easier. This week, his action led city council to amend its cemetary bylaw to allow that the graves be put upright at a future date. Hills spoke with Midcoast Morning about his efforts.

At the same time, the city updated its fee structure around cemeteries, which are nearing capacity. Acting Manager of cemeteries David Thompson provided more information about the state of cemeteries in the harbour city.

Nanaimo is looking at how to make people more aware of doughnut economics, a framework council adopted back in 2020.

An update on the topic was on the agenda at a governance and priorities committee meeting Monday.

Doughnut economics is a way of visualizing the economy that takes into account society’s needs and our ecological capacity.

It was first presented in 2012 by British economist Kate Raworth, who later wrote a 2017 bestseller on the concept.

On the inside wall of the doughnut are society's needs - things like food, housing, income, health, and political voice.

Outside of the doughnut is our ecological ceiling, separated into nine categories like air pollution, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss.

If the economy is functioning as it should, we are in the doughnut - everyone’s needs are being met, but we aren’t blasting past our ecological ceiling.

Raworth contrasts that with what she describes as 20th century economic thinking, which she writes in the book has been fixated on growing GDP as the measure of progress.

Midcoast Morning explores what doughnut economics could mean in practice to Nanaimo