The recent discovery of a living, controlled chain-growth method for synthesizing pi-conjugated polymers has ignited the field and led to the development of many new materials. This Perspective focuses on the mechanistic underpinnings of the synthetic transformation, highlighting the controversial hypotheses and supporting data. A critical analysis of the literature revealed that the monomer scope remains largely limited to electron-rich monomers at this time. Last, a brief overview of some exciting new materials accessed via this method is provided.