There's a lot of interesting research (and progress) even going on with Classical Mechanics. E.g. in the 90s it has been shown that even classical Newtonian Physics can yield divergent results which even has a Philosophical impact. Also normal (1-2 particle) Quantum Theory theory is progressing, much more is known about the border between QT and Classical Physics. But of course most resources at Physics departments are dedicated to Solid Matter Physics and High Energy Physics. At least the theoretical flavours of both have a lot of overlap actually and Solid Matter Physics also has applications in the industry. But teaching really focusses on going to one of the 2 topics, at least where I studied.

> physics has a communication problem

It puzzles me how in 2020 it's still common to believe that the world is a fully deterministic place. That kind of proves that the results stay inside Universities despite a lot of popular science publications.