Abstract: In the modern media field, new formats implemented in the Internet space are gaining more and more popularity. Convergent processes generate new forms of media content. One of these phenomena is the audio podcast, which is currently not sufficiently studied, many aspects need scientific reflection. In particular, the speech-genre specificity of audio podcasts is of research interest. The object of the undertaken research is educational audio podcasts presented on the platform Smotrim.ru ("100 Minutes" – 26 issues, "Literary squabbles" – 11 issues, "Conversations about literature" – 14 issues, "Diary of his Wife" – 11 issues) and Polka.academy ("Between the lines" – 17 issues), published from 2021 to 2024. The purpose of the article is to identify and describe the basic secondary speech genre, representing its primary speech genres objectified in the media texts under study. To achieve the stated goal, both general scientific research methods and private techniques used in media linguistics and media stylistics are used – comparison and interpretation of linguistic facts, speech-genre analysis of media texts. The study of media texts in the context of speech genre studies is relevant and promising, since this research paradigm allows us to identify and describe the basic structural elements of the genre, communicative specifics, intentions and roles of the addressee, to determine the linguistic and stylistic originality of the represented texts. The article presents various points of view on the phenomenon of audio podcasting, formulates its definition, which takes into account not only the technical properties of audio podcasts, but also their content specifics, provides classifications of audio podcasts, systematizes approaches to understanding and researching speech genres, identifies and characterizes the basic secondary speech genre of informative conversation, as well as dominant primary speech included in its structure genres.