Glenn Corn: A Former CIA Agent’s Case for Language Learning

About this episode

Glenn Corn discusses the importance of language learning for intelligence careers and national security.

ACTA’s Academic Affairs Fellow Veronica Bryant welcomes Glenn Corn, who spent 35 years working in the national security and international affairs community. Mr. Corn served as CIA chief of station for four different Eurasian and Middle Eastern countries. He now teaches graduate-level courses in International Affairs and Security Studies at the Institute of World Politics. In addition to his teaching work, Mr. Corn provides strategic advising and consulting, acts as a visiting fellow at George Mason University's law school's National Security Institute, and serves as an expert contributor to the Cipher Brief. Mr. Corn compellingly argues that language learning is essential, both for an intelligence career and for national security.

People in this episode

Host: Veronica Bryant

Guest: Glenn Corn

Topics covered

• language learning
• national security
• intelligence career
• international affairs
• consulting
• teaching

Keywords

• language learning
• national security
• CIA
• intelligence
• international affairs
• consulting
• teaching

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA, Institute of World Politics, George Mason University, Cipher Brief, National Security Institute

More episodes of Higher Ed Now

• David Rohrbacher: Inside New College’s Curriculum Turnaround · May 12, 2026 · 37 min
• Lucas Morel: Frederick Douglass's Evolving View of Abraham Lincoln · April 23, 2026 · 50 min
• Wagner, Colonialism, and K-Pop: How Language Learning Connects Us to Culture and History · March 3, 2026 · 48 min
• David Eubanks: How Is Accreditation Broken (And How Can We Fix It?) · November 13, 2025 · 45 min
• Thad Westbrook: Leading Higher Education Reform at the University of South Carolina · October 9, 2025 · 46 min
• Lee Strang: Revitalizing Civics Education in the Buckeye State · September 8, 2025 · 41 min