In this talk I will give an update on our work on hyperon polarization and primordial photoproduction in heavy-ion collisions. Recent measurements by the STAR-RHIC and HADES-GSI experiments, show that local and global hyperon polarization in heavy-ion collisions, evolves and changes drastically at smaller collision energy and larger centrality. This provides a portal to study the collective rotation of the nuclear medium, quark spin-alignment with the global angular momenta and emerging critical phenomena which I will report on, in the context of our work on Lambda and anti-Lambda polarization using a core-corona model. In connection to the photons produced at early stages of heavy-ion collisions, I will report on how the strong magnetic field produced at those stages, catalyzes soft photoproduction. Finally I will summarize current efforts to learn about the critical end-point in the nuclear matter phase diagram.