Available evidence from 2021–2025 points to continued and in some domains intensified culture‑war conflict and “cancel culture” dynamics, rather than a clear subsiding and broadening of the Overton window as Jason predicted.

Key points:

1. Ongoing & high‑salience cancellation controversies

   • High‑profile cases over speech, social media posts, and old statements continued after mid‑2021 across media, academia, and entertainment. Examples include Dave Chappelle’s Netflix specials and backlash (2021–2023), J.K. Rowling’s continuing ostracization and boycotts, and numerous de‑platforming and firing controversies tied to views on race, gender, and trans issues. News and commentary sources in 2022–2024 describe “cancel culture” as ongoing and a major flashpoint, not something that has clearly ended or markedly diminished.

2. Polarization and culture‑war salience remain high

   • U.S. political polarization on cultural issues (race, gender, education, COVID measures, etc.) remained high through the 2022 and 2024 election cycles. Surveys and analyses during this period continued to identify culture‑war topics and speech controversies as central partisan battlegrounds, including fights over school curricula, corporate DEI policies, and online speech moderation. This is inconsistent with a broad, cross‑partisan cooling of “hysteria.”

3. No clear evidence of significantly fewer social/professional penalties for speech

   • While there has been backlash to and criticism of cancel culture (e.g., the Harper’s Letter in 2020, ongoing op‑eds and books criticizing cancellation), there is no robust evidence that instances of people facing social or professional consequences for controversial or past statements have significantly declined relative to the late‑2010s/early‑2020s baseline. High‑profile firings, social‑media pile‑ons, and boycotts remained common topics in press and public debate through at least 2024–2025.

4. Overton window has not clearly ‘blossomed’ in the predicted way

   • In some online spaces, certain taboo topics have become more openly discussed, but simultaneously other viewpoints (especially on race, gender identity, and the 2020 election) have become more fraught, with strong social and sometimes professional penalties. On the right, there has been increased formal censorship pressure (book bans, restrictions on teaching certain concepts) while on parts of the left, social/organizational pressures regarding speech remain strong. Overall, the set of ideas that can be expressed without serious social risk has not obviously expanded in a broad, society‑wide sense.

Given that several years have passed since mid‑2021 and the observable trajectory shows: (a) culture‑war salience remaining high, (b) continued prominent cancellation disputes, and (c) no clear, systemic broadening of tolerated speech, the specific prediction that "this great nightmare of hysteria is going to end" and the Overton window would "blossom" with fewer cancellations is best evaluated as wrong, rather than merely inconclusive or ambiguous.