Radio pulsars have been responsible for many astonishing astrophysical and fundamental physics breakthroughs since their discovery 50 years ago. In this review I will discuss many of the highlights, most of which were only possible because of the provision of large-scale observing facilities. The next 50 years of pulsar astronomy can be very bright, but only if our governments properly plan and fund the infrastructure necessary to enable future discoveries. Being a small sub-field of astronomy places an onus on the pulsar community to have an open-source/open access approach to data, software, and major observing facilities to enable new groups to emerge to keep the field vibrant.
