Kevin Gray
Lagos, Nigeria
Kevin Gray has reported from Gabon, Libya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but his trip to observe Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women philanthropic initiative was the first time he’d visited Africa in the company of bankers. The Goldman team’s movements were strictly choreographed, Gray says: “Every minute was scheduled—even overnight rest.” Gray, a senior writer, interviewed former HBO president Carolyn Strauss for the September issue.

J. Carrier
Lagos, Nigeria
Traveling through Lagos to photograph the women in Goldman Sachs’ philanthropy effort, Carrier was struck by the disparity between the world inside Goldman’s education program and that of the city’s chaotic streets. “It was a mix of being in this bubble and also being in Nigeria, which is an insane place to work,” says Carrier, who’s based in Nairobi, Kenya. “Lagos is just like the ninth level of hell. It’s intense in so many different ways.”

Matthew Cooper
Washington
In his Washington column, Matthew Cooper solicits the advice of such P.R. gurus as Harold Burson and Howard Rubenstein on behalf of President Bush, who now must refurbish his image for a postpresidential career. Cooper suggests Bush become Major League Baseball’s commissioner. “His heart is in baseball,” says Cooper. “When he talks about it, he’s more animated than when he’s talking about trade or taxes.”

Jesse Eisinger
Pittsburgh
Amid the greatest financial crisis of recent generations, senior writer Jesse Eisinger set out to explore its origins. He met with PNC Financial vice chairman Bill Demchak, who pioneered and popularized credit derivatives at J.P. Morgan. “He’s a prudent and responsible banker, and he helped create something good and responsible for his bank,” says Eisinger. “But that creation sowed the seeds of the crisis we’re experiencing today.”

Gregg Segal
Southampton, New York
When Gregg Segal photographed David Koch at his estate, he learned the hard way that it’s illegal to set up a shoot on Southampton’s dunes. “Apparently, it’s unlawful to even walk on the dunes,” Segal says. Having relocated to a nearby boardwalk, he photographed Koch strolling with his wife toward the ocean. Segal also contributes photographs to Claire Hoffman’s feature on American Apparel’s controversial founder, Dov Charney.

Gary Weiss
New York
Billionaire David Koch is changing the stakes of philanthropy with his benevolent intimidation, Gary Weiss observes. Koch’s giving entails “a shaming of other billionaires,” Weiss says. “They see massive gifts by Steven Schwarzman or David Koch and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got $100 million. I can certainly give it away.’ ” Weiss wrote about Citigroup C.E.O. Vikram Pandit for the September issue.