Data visualization is the term used to describe the methods and technologies used to allow the exploration and communication of quantitative information graphically. Data visualization is a rapidly growing and evolving discipline, and visualizations are widely used to cover politics. Yet, while popular and scholarly publications widely use visualizations, the skills necessary for developing analytically powerful and aesthetically compelling graphics are not widely taught, at least not in political science. This article thus focuses on two innovative aspects of teaching research methods through the use of data visualizations. The first aspect concerns what is taught and the second concerns how the relevant material is taught. Unlike a more traditional course that emphasizes probability theory, inferential statistics, and formal hypothesis testing, my "Numbers, Pictures and Politics" (NPP) course spotlights the visualization tools and skills useful for understanding and communicating political and other social phenomena.