On The Glenn Show, Steve and Glenn begin with small talk about the government shutdown, and then launch into a vigorous debate on the current state of economics as an academic discipline. Steve uses history and politics to explain why economics in America has become so highly technical and narrowly focused, but Glenn pushes back. Is there beauty in the mathematical rigor of American economics? Can we learn anything from the refutation of certain economic ideas? They conclude by reviewing the methods that economists have borrowed from medical researchers.