Infrared divergences in the perturbative expansion of gauge theory amplitudes and cross sections have been a focus of theoretical investigations for almost a century. New insights still continue to emerge, as higher perturbative orders are explored, and high-precision phenomenological applications demand an ever more refined understanding. This review aims to provide a pedagogical overview of the subject. We briefly cover some of the early historical results, we provide some simple examples of low-order applications in the context of perturbative QCD, and discuss the necessary tools to extend these results to all perturbative orders. Finally, we describe recent developments concerning the calculation of soft anomalous dimensions in multi-particle scattering amplitudes at high orders, and we provide a brief introduction to the very active field of infrared subtraction for the calculation of differential distributions at colliders. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.