In presence of defects the Hilbert space of a quantum field theory can change in interesting ways. Surface defects in 4d N=2 theories introduce a class of 2d-4d BPS states, which the original 4d theory does not possess. For theories of class S, spectral networks count 2d-4d BPS states, and through the 2d-4d wall-crossing phenomenon the 4d BPS spectrum can be obtained. Adopting this physical viewpoint on spectral networks, I will illustrate some recent and ongoing developments based on this framework, with applications to the study of 4d N=2 BPS monodromies and their relations to specialisations of the superconformal index.
