Skip to content
Joy episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 4, 2025 · 1H 17M

Joy

from Did That Really Happen?

This week we're traveling back to 1970s Britain with Joy! Join us as we learn about the real people who invented IVF, including Patrick Steptoe, Jean Purdy, and Matron Muriel, as well as how papers like the Daily Mirror covered the whole thing. Sources https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/10/screenwriter-jack-thorne-ivf-joy-film-netflix https://deadline.com/2024/10/joy-movie-thomasin-mckenzie-shines-as-test-tube-baby-pioneer-in-joy-1236115393/ https://time.com/7178799/joy-true-story-jean-purdy-netflix/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_(2024_film) Litynski GS. Patrick C. Steptoe: laparoscopy, sterilization, the test-tube baby, and mass media. JSLS. 1998 Jan-Mar;2(1):99-101. PMID: 9876723; PMCID: PMC3015256. Edwards Robert Geoffrey 1996Patrick Christopher Steptoe, C. B. E., 9 June 1913 - 22 March 1988Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc.42433–452 Daily Mirror articles from 21 January 1960 to 14 December 1979, accessed through the British Newspaper Archive Bourn Hall Fertility Clinic: https://www.bournhall.co.uk/fertilityblog/international-nurses-day-12-may-recognising-the-dedication-of-fertility-nurses/ John Webster, "Muriel Harris: Nursing IVF to Success," Science Museum Blog, available at https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/muriel-harris-nursing-ivf-to-success/ https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7101718324 Web of Science Josh Halliday, "Female nurse who played crucial role in IVF ignored on plaque," The Guardian (2019), https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/10/jean-purdy-female-nurse-who-played-crucial-role-in-ivf-ignored-on-plaque Johnson, Martin H. "Edwards, Sir Robert Geoffrey (Bob) (1925–2013), physiologist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 4, 2025

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Joy

0:00 1:17:19

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Did That Really Happen??

This episode is 1 hour and 17 minutes long.

When was this Did That Really Happen? episode published?

This episode was published on August 4, 2025.

Can I download this Did That Really Happen? episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!