If one extrapolates the current growth trends for disc drive data rates, the data rate expected by the year 2005 is 2.4 Gbits/sec, requiring magnetization reversal frequencies in the GHz range. However, Permalloy (NiFe), a standard material used for inductive write heads, exhibits ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) at ~ 630 MHz, which is a 10%-90%, precession-limited switching time of 550 ps. While increasing the saturation magnetization and/or anisotropy shifts this resonance to higher frequencies, the gain in switching speed is proportional to only the square root of such increases. As a result, operating magnetic recording heads at or near the FMR frequency may be a necessity to achieve the desired data rates in future storage devices. This rapid increase in data rate toward the fundamental switching speed limit has generated renewed interest in the field of high speed magnetic switching and magnetodynamics, originally studied extensively in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This renewal has been assisted by the availability of faster electronic and optical techniques with improved signal-to-noise for characterizing magnetic materials and devices at times well below 1 ns. Recent contributions to this field in the form of time-domain switching measurements, where the film magnetization is driven far from equilibrium, will be reviewed. Subtle material-dependent phenomena which have been observed by these techniques, including possible differences in bulk and surface magnetic properties, will be discussed, as will the possibility of actively controlling the magnetodynamics to achieve a desired behavior. Finally, the extension of these techniques to more complicated materials systems and nanoscale device structures will be addressed.