Effective theories of macroscopic quantum transport can both constrain allowed transport processes and reveal new collective dynamics far from equilibrium. In this talk, I will focus on transport effects associated with the chiral anomaly, a subtle quantum-mechanical effect, in two settings at widely separated scales: the relativistic fluid dynamics of the quark–gluon plasma and the transient electron dynamics of chiral semiconductors. In the context of the quark-gluon plasma, fundamental relativistic and thermodynamic principles imply constraints on anomalous transport coefficients, yielding the first causal and stable theory of viscous chiral hydrodynamics. In photoexcited quantum materials, a magneto-chiral current can drive a dynamical instability recently observed in photoexcited tellurium. This instability is closely related to the chiral magnetic instability of high-energy plasmas, but with essential involvement of impurity degrees of freedom. These examples underscore how high-energy and condensed-matter systems act as complementary arenas for exploring nonequilibrium quantum transport.