Topological photonics leverages synthetic optical materials to emulate topological phenomena in wave physics, offering both fundamental physics demonstrations and practical technological applications. The field has grown exponentially due to the relative ease of emulating theoretical models of topological phases, which were often challenging to observe experimentally in condensed matter systems. Key advantages of topological photonics include enhanced robustness to disorder and imperfections, as well as the ability to enrich topological phases with new features such as nonlinearities and non-Hermiticity. The robustness of topological boundary modes, particularly in systems with broken time-reversal symmetry (TRS), is a significant motivation for research. One-way topological photonic modes can avoid backscattering and reflection from defects, but achieving this resilience is challenging due to practical limitations in breaking TRS. Alternative methods, such as using materials with stronger magneto-optical properties or temporal modulation of dielectric properties, may enable more robust topological systems. Symmetry-protected topological systems, which rely on spatial symmetries like rotational or sublattice symmetries, have also been explored. These systems support optical modes with nontrivial spatial modal structure, leading to spectral degeneracies that can be treated as components of an effective pseudo-spinor (PS). This approach has been used to control optical fields at the nanoscale and to create structured light on photonic chips. Recent advancements include the selective coupling of pseudo-spins to intrinsic degrees of freedom of matter excitations in topological polaritonic structures. This has opened new possibilities for mode engineering, such as generating cavity and vortex states, which offer exciting features for photonic applications. Despite its potential, topological photonics is still in its early stages, and the field should explore a broader range of opportunities beyond robustness. The authors emphasize the importance of designing new types of symmetries, including synthetic dimensions, to realize robust photonic transport rooted in topological order.Topological photonics leverages synthetic optical materials to emulate topological phenomena in wave physics, offering both fundamental physics demonstrations and practical technological applications. The field has grown exponentially due to the relative ease of emulating theoretical models of topological phases, which were often challenging to observe experimentally in condensed matter systems. Key advantages of topological photonics include enhanced robustness to disorder and imperfections, as well as the ability to enrich topological phases with new features such as nonlinearities and non-Hermiticity. The robustness of topological boundary modes, particularly in systems with broken time-reversal symmetry (TRS), is a significant motivation for research. One-way topological photonic modes can avoid backscattering and reflection from defects, but achieving this resilience is challenging due to practical limitations in breaking TRS. Alternative methods, such as using materials with stronger magneto-optical properties or temporal modulation of dielectric properties, may enable more robust topological systems. Symmetry-protected topological systems, which rely on spatial symmetries like rotational or sublattice symmetries, have also been explored. These systems support optical modes with nontrivial spatial modal structure, leading to spectral degeneracies that can be treated as components of an effective pseudo-spinor (PS). This approach has been used to control optical fields at the nanoscale and to create structured light on photonic chips. Recent advancements include the selective coupling of pseudo-spins to intrinsic degrees of freedom of matter excitations in topological polaritonic structures. This has opened new possibilities for mode engineering, such as generating cavity and vortex states, which offer exciting features for photonic applications. Despite its potential, topological photonics is still in its early stages, and the field should explore a broader range of opportunities beyond robustness. The authors emphasize the importance of designing new types of symmetries, including synthetic dimensions, to realize robust photonic transport rooted in topological order.