About me

My name is Stephen Semler and I write Polygraph, a data-driven newsletter that analyzes (and visualizes) politics through a class lens. I have experience in the international humanitarian sector, US federal budget authorizations and appropriations, and policy analysis and advocacy. For more, see my expert profiles with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and the Forum on the Arms Trade.

What to expect from Polygraph

Free subscribers get newsletters as needed, about once a week. The newsletters are usually short and always have charts.

Paid subscribers receive my utmost gratitude and bonus newsletters with more advanced analysis and inside looks into my advocacy work.

-Stephen (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Bluesky)

Subscribe to Polygraph

Visualizing politics through a class lens. A newsletter by Stephen Semler.

People

Producer of charts and policy analysis for the working class. Currently: cofounder, Security Policy Reform Institute (SPRI); non-resident senior fellow, Center for International Policy (CIP). Previously: humanitarian, lobbyist, volleyball coach.