matroids combinatorially abstract the ubiquitous notion of "independence" in various contexts such as linear algebra and graph theory.  recently, an algebro-geometric perspective known as "combinatorial hodge theory" led by june huh produced several breakthroughs in matroid theory.  we first give an introduction to matroid theory in this light.  then, we introduce a new geometric model for matroids that unifies, recovers, and extends various results from previous geometric models of matroids.  we conclude with a glimpse of new questions that further probe the boundary between combinatorics and algebraic geometry.  joint works with andrew berget, alex fink, june huh, matt larson, hunter spink, and dennis tseng.