This week, we sat down with senior administration officials take a look back at some of the history-making moments that illuminated the fabric of America. Watch what they had to say:

“Sometimes there's days like this, when that slow, steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.”

President Barack Obama

“The notion that cynicism is the right way to operate has been blown out of the water by the events really of the last several months, particularly this summer.”

Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the Domestic Policy Council

“No longer was it about partisan fighting, now it was just simply about how do we make sure on a daily basis people have access to coverage…”

 Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy

“The room went up in applause and several of us went down to tell the President and he came down and gave amazing remarks in the Rose Garden and changed the world.”

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

“It almost felt like it was over to us after these dramatic domestic and social breakthroughs.”

Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting

“We have to understand that our jails should be places that we make people better, where we go back to the idea of rehabilitation and you can't send that message without actually being there and seeing what is happening there.”

Roy Austin, Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity

Your summer just got a little groovier.

Today, the White House joined Spotify — and our inaugural playlist was hand-picked by none other than President Obama. When asked to pick a few of his favorite songs for the summer, the President got serious. He grabbed a pen and paper and drafted up not one, but two separate summer playlists: One for the daytime, and one for the evening.

It's stocked with a selection of the classics — from Nina Simone's blues sensation “Feelin' Good” to the Temptations' “Ain't Too Proud to Beg” — mixed in with more recent tracks from artists like Florence & the Machine and The Lumineers.

Give them both a listen and a subscribe — we think you're going to love it.

And make sure you follow the White House on Spotify — because we've got a lot more to come, from issue-specific playlists to songs selected by other people in the White House.

President Obama's Summer Playlist: Day

1. Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptations
2. Live It Up – Isley Brothers
3. Memories Live – Talib Kweli & Hi Tek
4. Tombstone Blues – Bob Dylan
5. So Much Trouble in the World – Bob Marley
6. Paradise – Coldplay
7. Tengo Un Trato (Remix) – Mala Rodriguez
8. Wang Dang Doodle – Howlin Wolf
9. Another Star – Stevie Wonder
10. Hot Fun in the Summertime – Sly & the Family Stone
11. Boozophilia – Low Cut Connie
12. Wherever Is Your Heart  – Brandi Carlile
13. Good Day – Nappy Roots
14. Green Light – John Legend
15. Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones
16. Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin
17. Down Down the Deep River – Okkervil River
18. Pusher Love Girl – Justin Timberlake
19. Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine
20. La Salsa La Traigo Yo – Sonora Carruseles

President Obama's Summer Playlist: Night

1. My Favorite Things – John Coltrane
2. Superpower (feat. Frank Ocean) – Beyoncé
3. Moondance – Van Morrison
4. Is Your Love Big Enough? – Lianne La Havas
5. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart – Al Green
6. Red & White & Blue & Gold – Aoife O’Donovan
7. Nothing Even Matters – Lauryn Hill
8. The Best Is Yet to Come – Frank Sinatra
9. You Don’t Know Me – Ray Charles
10. I Found My Everything – Mary J Blige
11. Help Me – Joni Mitchell
12. I’ve Got Dreams to Remember – Otis Redding
13. Suzanne – Leonard Cohen
14. Feeling Good – Nina Simone
15. Stubborn Love – The Lumineers
16. Until – Cassandra Wilson
17. UMI Says – Mos Def
18. The Very Thought of You – Billie Holiday
19. Flamenco Sketches – Miles Davis
20. Woo – Erykah Badu

Like that? You'll love our White House In Performance series. Over the course of the past few years, we've hosted a series of concerts right here in the White House — welcoming artists from Stevie Wonder to Paul McCartney to Jennifer Hudson. 

You can take a look at a selection of videos from these concerts here.

On July 1, President Obama announced that the United States had agreed to formally re-establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba and re-open embassies in our respective countries. 

The last time we had an embassy in Cuba was in January of 1961, when we severed diplomatic relations at the height of the Cold War.

Today, more than 54 years later, Secretary of State John Kerry is travelling to Havana to re-open our embassy and take a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people.

Watch live at 9:45 a.m. as Secretary Kerry raises our flag over U.S. Embassy Havana once more, and stay tuned here all day for more updates from Cuba.

Want a deeper dive into our new approach? You can learn more about the steps we're taking to improve U.S. and Cuban relations here: whitehouse.gov/cuba