Luca Perfetti, from the LSI Radiation-Matter Interaction group will review recent results about time resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and time resolved THz spectroscopy in condensed matter. The dynamics of electrons at the surface of topological insulators strongly depend on the local fields at the sample surface. This property could be exploited to spatially separate conducting carriers in topological states from carriers moving in bulk-like states. On the superconducting side, THz measurements could follow the temporal evolution of superconducting fluctuations in real time. The fascinating outcomes pave the way for the study of critical phenomena far from equilibrium.